The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News - Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties

Hello, friends!

It's been a few weeks since I last wrote you, as I have been busy making the most of our final summer days before school started. Now we are full swing into the school year and before you know it we will have the Clay County Fair upon us – the true tell-tale sign that fall is approaching. Sorry summer lovers, but I say bring on the fall!

This summer was a quick and beautiful one, jam-packed as usual with family, friends, activities, fun in the sun and excursions galore. It provided quality time with those I love most; time that I find to be the joy of life. God is so good in all that He provides.

Speaking of God providing me with more than I deserve, I wanted to share with you something that I meant to submit as a news article a few weeks ago, but alas, never did.

Many of you may know my amazing grandparents, Bud and Arlene Meyer. I could go on and on about how much I love, treasure, adore, and am blessed by my truly wonderful grandparents, but I think the following story will paint you a pretty good picture.

My grandparents had lived in their Everly home for over 25 years. They have poured their heart and soul into everything they owned and that home. Although it's just a house without our family in it, their home was something they cherished as it brought us all together.

Back in December my grandpa's COPD took a turn for the worse and had him back in the hospital and then in the nursing home. Being the fighter that he is, he fought quickly so that he could move into assisted living where my grandma was awaiting him. The two have been in their beautiful apartment ever since. Their beloved Everly home has sat fairly untouched.

As summer arrived and discussion continued, they decided it was time to put their house for sale. After a few short months on the market, their home sold to someone they know and think fondly of. What a beautiful change of hands for it to go to someone that they know and who will take care of their precious house.

As soon as the sale was made, the wheels began to turn and helping hands were on deck. In only a few short weeks their home had to be emptied before keys were turned over. The whirlwind of moving began.

I don't know about you, but life can be hard. It can be hectic and gut-wrenching at times. Confusing in how quickly things transform and how rushed we can be to get so many things off of our to-do list. It's sometimes unfair how little we get to stop and just breathe and take it all in. Sometimes we may find it easier to just keep rolling with the punches and sticking our nose to the grindstone rather than look up and face the music of what is actually occurring in our lives. Because, if we look up and take a break, we may have to actually feel the feelings that go along with those changes.

But we seem to forget that those very feelings are part of our existence. They're part of our story. Part of our current chapter and those to come. If we neglect to feel all of the feelings that life's chapters allow us to go through, then we are doing ourselves a disservice in our existence.

In Grandma and Grandpa's case, this transition was occurring less than a year after moving from their home to the nursing home to assisted living – a transition from home-owner to home-seller; a transition of getting older. Those aren't ever easy life events for anyone.

So, in the sprint of getting the house emptied, papers signed and permanently moving into their apartment, it was easy to see that the rush and hubbub was not allowing them time to ruminate in what was occurring. They needed to lean back, take a rest and be grateful for what that beautiful house gave to them.

They needed to sit and relish all that was carried through those thresholds. All the joy that those front porch steps allowed to enter their home.

They needed to make peace with the fact that their community was not leaving them and that they could never truly leave their beloved community, whether they moved zipcodes or not.

They needed to know that even though they made this decision and knew it was best, that it was OK to be sad. It was OK to mourn in more ways than one. Change is hard.

So, the best way for us to show this truly cherished Everly couple that they are loved was to throw them a surprise drive-by "One Last Porch Wave" parade.

A few calls, texts and Facebook posts later and we knew we had a decent-sized crew coming to town. Truth-be-told, we had no idea how many participants we were going to have. We just banked on the fact that Grandpa and Grandma are so loved that hopefully we would have a "decent sized" group show up.

"Decent-sized" was quickly surpassed. Twenty cars lined up in the first 10 minutes. More kept coming.

Grandma and Grandpa thought they were going to sit on their porch one last time with their great-grandchildren, my husband and I as we enjoyed one final "porch-visit" before the new owners took possession the next day.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived and we sat them in their garage to better view their upcoming surprise. The girls started their chalk art and slowly family started to arrive to sit with them. They looked visibly perplexed, but being the easy-going and loving people that they are, they just took it in stride as we sat together and talked.

Little did they know that in the Hope Lutheran Church parking lot, less than a block away, was a 49-vehicle line-up with over 140 people ready to honk, holler, wave and smile as they passed their love onto my grandparents. Over 140 people came to say "We care. We see you. We love you. We will miss you. Thank you."

I get choked up as I type that, because where on earth can something so beautiful happen? Only here.

My husband led the line-up as they came around the corner and the fire department horns started to blast. Grandma instantly looked a bit concerned that the fire department was on their block. I think he knew the whole time that something was fishy, but just couldn't put his finger on what it was until Josh and their beloved Everly Fire Department team were in his sights.

Car after car, truck after golf cart, mower after firetruck passed with waving hands, each filled people they've supported and loved over the past decades It was, quite literally, what makes small-town Iowa's charm so breathtaking.

If only you could have seen their faces. They were shocked, moved to tears, and completely overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness. They sat there thinking about just how blessed they truly are. It was a showing of love and adoration that I dare say goes unparalleled. To all of you that sent them a card, drove by with a wave, called them the next day, or walked up to give them a hug, know that you are so appreciated and they (we) love you so much.

Thank you for seeing how important that "One Last Porch Wave" truly was and letting my grandparents see just how much you mean to them. Please know that you mean the world to them too, as did your beautiful gesture of love that night.

May we all remember to build our communities, relish our neighbors, hold our loved ones, and spread the love we've been given to give. Life is short, but it is oh so beautiful if we live it out loud.

Love and blessings to you all, until next time.

Sentinel-News contributor Iesha Toft lives in Royal.