letting go of the dream

In 1971, my grandparents reluctantly bought a little cottage in Woods Hole, MA for $21,000. They didn't want to spend the money, and they borrowed the $5000 down payment from my father, who had just gotten out of the service and had some capital. They retired there in 1975. We visited them often - I lived there for a few months in the fall of 1974, and for the summer of 1981 - and it became a special place for me. My best birthday ever was there, my fourth, when we came home from the beach to a surprise party (in advance of the actual birthday, so a complete surprise), and there were gumdrops on the cake. Every grandchild's height from infancy to adulthood is marked on a doorjamb in the hall. I've lived in 19 different apartments/houses in my life, and that's counting 3 different college dorm rooms as one 'apartment', and not counting the two academic years spent in Greece. I'd lived in 10 of those dwellings, in 5 different cities in 4 states, before I was 13. I decided in my teens that Woods Hole was the place I actually belonged, and I decided I would inherit the house there from my grandparents.

The house is going to go on the market shortly for $529,000. Right after my grandmother died a year ago it was appraised at $405,000, and we thought about buying it, and even made an offer to the estate at about this time last year. We decided over the winter, while the house was in limbo waiting for a septic system report, that we couldn't afford to buy the house - buying a house that we could actually live in needed to be a priority in the next 2-3 years. My mother took up the torch, and was ready to purchase until she heard the list price this morning. I've told her not to do it - for that price, she could buy a house in Martha's Vineyard (her true belonging-place) that doesn't need a complete new septic system, major foundation and structural repairs, new siding, insulation and a heating system in the second floor, modernization of everything since it hasn't been touched since 1971 (my god, the kitchen!), you get the idea. If the new owners tear it down, in this case they may actually be doing the sensible thing. I should note, the price is not outrageous, given my glance at comparable properties in the area. The real estate market as a whole is outrageous, but the asking price for this house is reasonable, once you accept the prevailing outrageousness.

Goodbye, 25 Q. I loved you so.