Most of February was spent getting Dadās house ready to sell after his passing. I think he kept every single receipt and every family record from the time he moved into the house over 50 years ago. It was a challenge for the siblings to decide what to keep and what to throw away. My big brother, Kirk did a great job of delegating the tasks so no one sibling was overwhelmed. I was given the daunting task of taking care of family historical records including pictures, geneology, historical books from Fairview, Sanpete, and other published books that had to do with our ancestors. Just when I thought I had found all of them, I discovered more. My dad was really into family history! I had been blessed with the spirit of Elijah also and so I was excited and terrified at the same time.
Then came the distribution of Dadās āthingsā. Every time we looked at Dad and Momās earthly possessions, it tugged at our heart strings. How can you decide what to take and what to give away. Everything meant something at some time to them so you had to think twice before putting it in the D.I. pile. One rule was, āif you gave something to them, it was yours to takeā, so everything I had given them over the years, became mine. Much of it was from Tonga when we lived there. Woven articles, tapa cloth, carved tikis, etc. I wondered if they had ever enjoyed them. Dad had taken one of the wooden boxes we had sent the gifts in and made a beautiful clock out of it in a style called āintarsiaā. It was beautiful and his skill of woodworking was truly evident.
My first wish was to have Momās chandeliers ā i had always loved them. So, I asked my brother and two sisters if they wanted them. They said they didnāt, so my husband asked his friend who was an electrician to take them down and brought them to my house. We had to clean them very well and it was quite a daunting task while being very careful not
to break anything. Then my sisterās son, Steve came and put them up in my home. I hope Mom doesnāt mind. They upgraded our home and it did not diminish the value of their home one bit.
Piece by piece, a part of Mom and Dadās precious valuables were taken and their home started looking bare. It was a sad sight, but we felt that we were doing the best we could. Kirk put some items for sale on KSL and a few sold.
Dad had so many tools in his shop in the basement. I wonder how many pieces of wood he had crafted into amazing useful structures. I ended up with one of his beauties to hold my knickknacks. Mom had painted many ceramic pieces and I think all of us got some of them.
I found some cassette tapes and was delighted to find one with my mother having a voice lesson and with a conversation between her and her teacher. She said that she was taking singing lessons because Dad had missed hearing her sing. So sweet. Another tape had my Grandpa Anderson on it being interviewed by my father. I made a copy of it and gave one to each of my siblings. Precious memories!
Dadās Mustang was a coveted piece and Kirk was putting it up for sale. It had hardly been used by Dad and had been kept in pristine shape in the garage. All the grandkids wanted it. It ended up being purchased by the Kongaika brothers ā to be determined who will end up with it in timeā¦
Once the house was emptied out, professional cleaners were hired so it would be ready for the realtors to take pictures. Dad had hoped that the house would be able to stay in the family. I had wanted the home at one point, but that did not turn out well. The house was getting quite run down and would need quite a bit of upgrading for whomever ended up living there. It had been built by my father with loving care for Mom. It had served its purpose. Noone could love it as much as she did. It sold for a handsome sum and we are all grateful to Dad for his sacrifice. We miss you, Mom and Dad!
