The Auction
It took more than 70 years to collect it all.
It's taken dad about six months to go through it all and trash, sort, and pack it all - and decide what would go in the auction.
It took about eight days to set it all up in the community center in Williamsburg.
In just three hours and thirty-one minutes it was all sold, we'd cleaned the building, and everyone headed home.
This year, 2014, is going to be a year of huge change both professionally and personally. But, the focus of my next few weeks will definitely be on the personal as we say good-bye, as a family, to our family farm and help mom and dad make a new home in a great new house in town. Today was sort of an official kick-off for moving as mom and dad held their auction today at the community center in Williamsburg. While they closed on the farm and on their new house at the end of January, it's the physical events you can see that seem to always make things real and this was very, very real.
We had worried some about whether there would be a decent crowd, but, as you can see from the photo there was no shortage of people. We think there were about 300 people there. Lots of old friends, tons of family, and a bunch of people probably just happy to have a snow free day where they could get out of their homes as this winter has been brutal and we were blessed with fantastic weather today.
As I said to a friend yesterday, today was going to be a lot about visiting and probably a little about crying and that was pretty much how it was. It was great to be surrounded by family and friends. We marveled at what some of the little items that had been tucked away in the barn or the attic sold for and we bought a few things for ourselves. I bought three things - a pair of apple crates, an old stool, and a pair of chairs - that I split with my sister-in-law. I'll write more about them as I get them settled in here at my house in the weeks to come.
There were a few tears (or at least a bit of emotion in the day - we're not really a family known for tears). The morning started out for me by watching dad drive the tractor out for the very last time. My post of the photo to instragram said it best - it's served many generations of our family well. My grandpa bought it, we learned about driving on it, and it's plowed more snow and tilled more acres than any of us care to think about. I'm glad I captured the pic, even though just with a cell phone. I know this experience has to be most emotional for my dad as he's lived on this farm nearly his entire life. He's handling it all really well, but as I shared that I'd caught a shot of him driving the tractor out for the last time and he asked to see it, I caught the emotion is his voice. We all know it's not about the things - it's about the people - but these things and this place holds so many memories and it seems we're all trying to soak them up as deeply as we can in these last moments.
The visiting of course was the most wonderful part. And, as we go forward we're preparing to create new memories...standing around at the auction planning food for next weekend's big move and deciding on the plan of attack for what we want to get accomplished on moving day. Mom and dad have done pretty much everything themselves - and mostly dad. My brothers and nephew helped get some things to the community center yesterday. My sister and I have helped a little off and on with a load here to the storage shed or packing a few boxes, but most has been on dad. It was nice to come together today and recognize next weekend is a family event - not for mom and dad to do alone but for all of us to do together...to make a new start at their new place. As mom and I were talking today about furnishing the new place we were talking about how Easter and all the holidays after will be great in their new family room/kitchen that are connected together.
As always, a highlight of my day was enjoying young Lucas who was an amazingly good sport for the entirety of the auction.
Snuggling with his grandpa
Playing with mommy's keys and grinning for the camera
Hanging out with Uncle Aaron
It's going to be a busy next couple of weeks and I hope that everything goes really smoothly with the move and getting mom and dad settled.