A memorable birthday

In case you missed it, today's my birthday.  The big 5 - 0.  For some reason, this feels weirder than 40.  It is also the end of a phase of my life.

Thirteen years ago we bought a house in Augusta for my parents to live in.  My sister also wanted to live there so she helped by paying a small amount of rent every month.  They were weeks ago from having nowhere to go, so we stepped in.  At the exact right time, a handicapped accessible house was available - perfect for my wheelchair bound mother.  She loved the house but only lived there about six weeks before her death.

So it became home for my dad and sister.  They enjoyed it there and when my dad started dealing with aging issues, the handicap accessibility was nice to have.

Today we sold that house.  It needs a lot of TLC and the new owner is going to renovate it for someone else to love someday.  It wasn't very well cared for in those years but it did it's job anyway - keeping my dad safe and warm and comfortable.

If a house cared about feelings I would tell it thank you.  But mainly I'll thank God for providing the house when we most needed it and for finding a buyer for it when we thought it would drive us crazy.  And as God's timing would have it, we closed on the house today, my birthday, and turned over the keys to the new owner.

What a gift.