Boy it seems everyone is moving lately....this week we're helping my Oma move...she's selling her place...and getting a new place in town....and today well we took out alot of rubbish from various sheds and painted the house...at the end of the day I started looking at everything....the swing set....the view of the river....the view of mount saint helens....and looking at old photos...alot of old photos of my late Opa....who died in February...and i got to thinking of all the memories this house has accumulated in over 30 years....easter egg hunts and birthdays and christmases...for the kids...and later for the grandkids...I remembered being as a very young kid...my dad (then was still married to his exwife) took me and a few others up to their house...and I remember them giving me a loud noisy toy machine gun for my birthday...this was even before I was their grandkid...and then I remembered things like one of their anniversaries many years ago...the kids poole dtheir money together and got them a trip to Hawaii....and then a couple of years ago opa turned 75...and we all had a surprise party for him...and 75 people were invited....less than a year later he got sick and was diagnosed with cancer...less than a year after that he was gone....and the house has seemed empty since...

I stood there looking at the river today thinking of all the memories being wiped away from this house...as if it were a chalkboard...machine parts hauled out...tools gone...rubbish left behind...rubbish will be gone in a few days....and then soon the photos will be placed into boxes along with the furniture...and no trace left of us in the house....

I found it kind of odd that soon I will not see that lovely place again...or look up and see the hawks diving in the field....or the boats sailing down the river and it brought me to tears...I wonder if the next owner realises how many years of memories have vanished from that house...and if they will appreciate it enough to build many many years of memories for their own....will they have christmases with one of the neighbours coming in dressed as Santa? Will they have easter eggs hidden in odd places...like inside of tree branches...gardens...gutters....will they know the joy of a Thanksgiving dinner with family talking chewing noisily and laughing as they sip their wine? Will they have the joy of hiking back five to ten miles in hip deep mud as you try to find the perfect camping space? Will they take their kids and grandkids on rides with a trailer being pulled by a tractor mower?...will they just know the value of family? by blood or spiritual? I don't know...and I do not expect to ever find out...but I certainly hope they will love it there.