Time to Move: Life at Old Homeplace Staggers to a Stop Leaving Lasting Memories 

The old homeplace where Carole and I have lived for 2½ years is about 80 years old. Carole’s dad was diligent to maintain the house and property, the same as he did his farm equipment, vehicles, and personal appearance. Carole has said often that her mom and dad could not tolerate anything being in disrepair. But they have been gone from here for 6 years, and despite all, the old plumbing, electrical wiring, well pump, etc. has passed its serviceability, and like an old, old car, it is drifting to a stop. So we expect to move soon. The place is being sold to folks who will invest to restore it. And just in time.

However, we will take with us lasting memories how God helped us during our time here to deal with the challenges. When the wiring would not support our appliances, we learned what to turn on and off, when and where to connect, and how in other ways to work with the problems so that we did not constantly blow fuses or burn the house down - for example, to run the clothes dryer on low heat for an hour instead of on high heat for thirty minutes.

Also, when the bathroom plumbing got stubborn, we discovered how to use dishwashing detergent to solve the problem. When the washing machine backed up in the kitchen sink, we began washing small rather than large loads, and then discovered just where to dig a new runoff. When the bathroom sink would not drain, even after we cleaned out all the plumbing we could get to without tearing out a wall, we connected a washing machine hose beneath the sink to drain the water into the bathtub. When the furnace fan would not shut off, we learned how to pound on an outdoor electrical box so that it would behave.

We confess to being inconvenienced by the challenges, but mostly to just being spoiled.

Don Loy Whisnant/Journey Notes 11A28