Renker Drive

Here it is, 3019 Renker, little changed after all these years. Of course, the trees were small and there was no grass back in 1967, but it looks the same as it has for so many years now.

The McDonald family had already spent many hours in the house, the result being all the cabinets and closets were emptied. Counters were covered with all the contents, ready to be claimed or given away.
The living room held one pile of things deemed sentimental (though the whole place was sentimental in a way). The couch was covered with linens and towels and comforters and blankets, a testimony to all the grandchildren who had camped out on pallets on the floor.
There was china and crystal with stories to tell that I did not know. Why did I not ask when someone could have told me where it all came from and what its significance was? There were lots of books and the World Books and Childcrafts that we had bought in Europe, or before we went or something. Why did I let those Childcrafts go to Salvation Army? How many times did I read those first ones, nursery rhymes and short stories? Why didn't I look through them one last time?

More items to peruse, The Globe of course, went straight to the pile of Sentimental Items to be Divided.

But what of this pile of little girls' swimsuits? How many hours did they spend on little girls in the hot tub, soaking up grandparently attention?

A small brown suitcase, all that remains of a set we took everywhere for years. Nancy and I remember using it for sleepovers at our friends' houses. Off to the Sentimental Section!

What of these roller skates? Whose were they? They were adjustable to still fit as your feet grew. We all had some, but whose were these? Haven't skates come a long way? Doesn't it make you wonder if they had electricity when these were used? In the end, these are sentenced to the pile of Give Away, a picture being deemed enough to preserve the memory.

One of two cabinets of videotapes Papa made of movies. Each videotape has about 3 movies, all carefully catalogued and color coordinated according to genre.	Here is a seemingly insignificant silver tray, not heavy enough to be real silver though. When we were sick, Granny brought us food in bed on this tray. Why did I let this be relegated to the Give Away pile?

Here is Papa's Boy Scout sash, showing all the badges he earned. On the bottom left, you can see the red, white, and blue of the eagle scout pin.

Here we all are, nearing the end of our day of hot, sweaty work.

On the left, you see the small Treasure Collection, also called Debatable Items, Really Cool Stuff, and Things We Need To Talk About. We had a short discussion before we divided these treasures, and everyone left with some special things. On the right, you can see the much larger collection assembled for the Salvation Army. I hope that many people are blessed by what was there, much of it still in good condition!

We need a quick picture of the three of us before we go, hot and sweaty though we are. But wait, I'm the middle child, I belong in the middle! I'm overruled by Dave's claim that the only guy should be in the middle. What difference does it make really? * The day has been full, chaotic, and emotional. But it is behind us now. The story of 3019 Renker has joined with other memories. We are thankful for the years we had growing up there, with parents who loved us and made the house into a home!