25 Mitchell

25 Mitchell

Today was the celebration of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit comes down onto the apostles of Jesus, which has been called the birth of the Church. I went to services at Queen of Peace, and afterwards had breakfast with Ann and Gail and my cousins, the Dillhoffs.

We were all ready for the challenge of the day. It was time to clear out all the things at 25 Mitchell- the house first purchased by Teresa and shared by Teresa and Ellen till Teresa married Andy McCool. Ellen lived there and it was where I stayed while I was transitioning my life to Ohio in 2006.

When Ellen and John combined their lives, she moved to Anderson, and Grandma and Jerry sold the house in Reading and moved into 25 Mitchell.

Jerry, Grandma’s single brother, had lived with her since losing his farm in 1989. They had moved into Ellen’s house to be closer to Ann and Gail. And when Grandma died, Jerry enjoyed the company of his nearby family. He was surrounded by his family when he died just days after Christmas from surgical complications.

Ann and Gail had the task of emptying the contents of a lifetime from the house- giving treasures to each of the children, clearing out all the items “saved” for a special occasion… It brought back memories of all the things my mom saved…she too left behind treasures new in their packages, saved for a special occasion.

Now was time to decide between Goodwill donate-able items and stuff that needed to be discarded. A dumpster sat in the driveway and everyone pitched in. Within three hours the dumpster was overfilled, everyone had cars full of things to take home, and the Goodwill pile filled a room. Hopefully all of it will find a new home.

The house is to be rented out by a man moving closer to his folks. The house is a good fit for him. We just need to finish cleaning it up and it will be ready to rent.