Baby Boomer Grandparent

It’s moving day again! Six months have passed since our son and his family have moved in with us.  Several major things have happened.  They found the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood and put an offer in on it.  That was on a Sunday.  On Tuesday, my son lost his job in the changing economy.  The house offer was withdrawn and we went back to square one. I knew my daughter-in-law was feeling stressed about not living in her own home.  Who wouldn’t be?

My mother-in-law passed away the previous March and we had rented her home to a friend.  The friend was moving out in a month and so we offered the home to our son and his family. They would have to pay rent but we would pay for all the maintenance of the house.  Because my daughter-in-law was working part-time and they would get unemployment for a period of time we agreed on a number and everyone thought it was fair.  The President’s plan for extended COBRA insurance coverage with reduced rates for those who lost their jobs certainly helped them a lot.  With three young children it was imperative they have insurance coverage.  The good news was that the house was on our property so they really weren’t moving too far but far enough to enjoy their own space.  As the day approached for the BIG move, I suddenly realized that most of the furniture was going nowhere.  My mother-in-law’s house was fully furnished except for the bunk beds needed in the second bedroom.  Okay, I could live with that and the kids agreed to take all the toys and clothes.  My basement would remain as storage until such time as my son could build shelves in  their “new” basement.  After their first week in their “new” house, I saw the immediate change in my daughter-in-law.  She was calmer and for the first time in months didn’t feel it was necessary to tell the kids to be quiet.  I gave her a hug and thanked her for being such a great house guest all those months.  I think my mother-in-law who was 90 when she died would be happy to know that her home once again was filled with children’s laughter and clutter.  Well, maybe not the clutter.

Six months have passed and although my son has still doesn’t have a full time job,  my daughter-in-law was called back to her full time job and he took her part time one.  They have settled into the house and are considering buying it soon.  They love the neighborhood and they couldn’t ask for better neighbors.  Did I mention that three of my other children and 18 of my grandchildren live next door too?

This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 12:49 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.