"Property does need some work but could be a beauty"

So says the MLS listing for my mother's home. I think she'd like that. She loved that old ranch so much.

It's been empty for more than a year. It's taken that long for her reverse mortgage to wend its way through the courts. But now the house is up for sale, realtor owned and less than appraised value.

My mother's parents built this house and she moved in when my uncle was in 8th grade and she was a senior in high school. It's the house where she had her tiny wedding reception (20 people) and where she left for her honeymoon. When I was a toddler, my parents bought the house from my grandparents for just $1* and she was home.

Her pride in her yard was enormous. She was never happier than when she was tending that garden.

I was not happy in there. The village is too white-bread. Some damaging things happened to me while I was living in that town and in that house.

But it was her home. It's 3BR (the realtor is calling the big fourth bedroom a family room) and 1.5 BA and it's walking distance to two grammar schools and one junior high. I hope a young family sees the potential in it, buys it, and lives the happy life my mother liked to pretend we had.

Both she and the house deserve that.

*The story is that my grandparents didn't want that big yard anymore, but that doesn't explain why they gave it to my parents. Yes, my mom and dad took over the mortgage, but $1 is a very sweet down payment. I suspect my dad was in financial trouble and his in laws fished him out. But my family thrived on secrets, so I'll never know.