The perks of living next door to Mom and Dad

By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com

Years after the fact, Steve Rinkel can chuckle at the memories associated with the purchase of a home in Mahomet.

He and his wife, Jill, were married in November, 1984, and living in southeast Urbana. By the following spring, they decided a move would be a wise decision to reduce Jill’s daily commute to work.

She was a music teacher in the Mahomet-Seymour school district.

With the help of a realtor, “we looked at a bunch of houses,” Steve Rinkel recalled.

They hadn’t quite found the ideal one when the realtor called again.

“He said, ‘I have one you have to look at,’” Steve Rinkel said.

They dutifully took the address and made an appointment to view the property.

As the young couple was parking, Steve noticed an attachment to the bottom of the “for sale” sign.

“There was a sign that said, ‘Nice neighbors,’” Steve Rinkel said.

He was intrigued, and queried the realtor for more information.

“He said he didn’t know,” Steve Rinkel said.

That was OK. The Rinkels had an ample amount of first-hand knowledge about the residents to the north on Weathering Drive.

They are Steve’s parents, Margaret and Gene Rinkel.

In April, Steve and Jill will celebrate 35 years of living next door to his parents.

Some might shudder at the thought. The Rinkels embraced it.

They are far from the only residents in Mahomet to have parents as next-door neighbors.

Kriss Eisenhauer lives by his folks, Jeannette and Leon Eisenhauer, on Division Street.

Kelly McPherson lives next to her mom, Linda Meachum, on State Street.

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For the Rinkels, proximity was never an issue.

“They aren’t the kind who would walk over and walk in,” Steve Rinkel said.

One advantage was an expanded play area once the Rinkels’ children were born.

“When the girls were growing up, both yards were their yards,” Steve Rinkel said, “and we had baby-sitters.

“The joke was we’d put in a walk-way and connect the houses.”

Both families considered it a win-win situation.

“It fostered closeness with the families,” Steve Rinkel said. “We ate Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s.”

The extra benefits were not always in evidence.

“Mom takes baked goods across the street (to other neighbors) more than she does to us,” Steve Rinkel said.

Sharing, however, was inevitable.

“I needed a drill and went to their house to get a drill,” Steve Rinkel said.

It’s not just tools, but also responsibilities that are shared.

“Gardening is not my gift,” Steve Rinkel said. “Dad helps take care of my yard, and I mow. It’s like one big property.”

When Steve and Jill Rinkel bought their house, it wasn’t necessarily intended to be their forever home.

“We thought maybe we’d move after a few years,” Steve Rinkel said.

And now, the house is paid off and they are comfortably settled. It was never part of a pre-determined master plan to live so close to family.

“If Jill was not teaching in Mahomet, we may not have ended in Mahomet,” Steve Rinkel said. “It was the location to the school. It was walking distance to Lincoln Trail.

“I like living in my hometown, but it was never a goal. It was a great experience. We’ve never had any issues.”

For Steve Rinkel, there are two opportunities to feel right at home.

“I should probably knock occasionally when I go next door,” he said, “but I don’t. We were living in that house when I graduated from high school.

“I’m 65, but I still walk over and open the fridge and see what they’ve got.”

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McPherson and her husband John lived elsewhere, but in 2007 realized a move back to her hometown was probably a necessity.

“After our son was born with special needs, we knew we wanted to move back to Mahomet to raise him and his sister,” McPherson said. “With a 1-year-old and a newborn, we didn’t have much time to house-hunt from 2 ½ hours away. It just happened that the house next door (to her parents) was going on the market, so we decided that would work.”

No one needed any convincing.

“Everyone was pretty much onboard,” McPherson said.

That feeling became truer in 2009 when the McPhersons added a third child, Jason.

“We definitely appreciated the help raising three kids under 4,” said Kelly McPherson, who had some familiarity with her new home.

“I had babysat years before for a family that lived there and was familiar with the layout,” she said. “It has almost everything we needed, so it was easy.”

McPherson had grown up in the home where her folks were living, and liked the area. The move was a positive experience for both families.

“The kids got to see their grandparents every day,” McPherson said. “We got to establish many fun traditions that we still do now 12 years later.

“It was helpful having my parents around when the kids were little and we needed help with childcare, especially since Jack had special therapy/medical needs.”

The ability to offer needed assistance became a two-way street.

“I am a nurse, and when my father (Tom) was undergoing treatment for cancer, it was so nice to be right next door to help out and to be there for my mom when he passed away (in 2015),” McPherson said.

The precious special moments live on.

“The memories we have made and the valuable time they have spent together is priceless,” McPherson said. “I always loved when my dad would mow the grass and stop and pick up one of the kids to ride on the tractor with him.

“I love being able to just pop over and chat with my mom. My daughter (Julia) and my mom are a lot alike and it’s fun to watch them together.”

Though Kelly McPherson said, “Early on, we had to establish some boundaries,” the experience has been positive.

“We would have meals together, we take turns mowing and I get free gardening advice,” Kelly McPherson said. “I still can’t keep my flowers alive, but I try.

“We always have an easy house/dog sitter for when the other one travels.  The kids love wandering over and spending time with ‘Nanny,’ especially Jason. They play games and cards together quite a bit.”

As a child, McPherson and her family were close. She imagined a scenario where she would live near by.

“Maybe not right next door, but definitely in the same town,” she said.

The closeness of their homes doesn’t mean the families are always with each other.

“We don’t do as much together as we used to – busy schedules with three older kids now – but we still see one another quite a bit,” Kelly McPherson said. “Mom comes to watch the kids in sports and we both share meals and help out when needed.”

As she has grown older, McPherson has also grown more appreciative.

“There have been many times where I have asked her to run next door to help John if one of the kids is sick because no matter how old you are, you still need your mom to reassure you,” McPherson said.

“I will never regret the opportunity we took to raise the kids next door to my parents.”

***

Kriss Eisenhauer is closing in on a quarter of a century living next door to his folks.

“It’s a neat old house, over 100 years old,” Kriss Eisenhauer said. “When mom and dad remodeled, I couldn’t see anyone else but a family member living next door.”

That wasn’t necessarily the plan as he graduated from Mahomet-Seymour High School.

“My thought was that I would move away and probably never come back to Mahomet,” Kriss Eisenhauer said. “I never envisioned living in Mahomet (again). It would have been like, ‘No way that is ever going to happen.’”

About 15 years after moving away, he was living in Normal when the search for a house began.

“I like the character of older houses,” he said. “They have more appeal. When I started house-hunting, the ones I found were either in poor condition or out of my price range.”

The perfect fit turned out to be back in his hometown.

“Good schools and a nice community,” said Kriss Eisenhauer, who made the move back in 1997. “An advantage is that the grandkids got to see their grandparents every day.

“It was a good location. It was appealing to have a ready baby-sitter or dog-sitter or house-watcher.”

When Eisenhauer and his wife at the time relocated, daughter Brit was 3 ½. Kendall was not yet born.

Having family close by was a blessing.

“We watch out for each other and never had any concerns about leaving town,” Kriss Eisenhauer said. “I have a key to their house and they have a key to mine.”

That’s a definite benefit, he discovered, if there was a moment of panic “like if I got to work and feel like I left the coffee pot plugged in,” he said.

There is, also, a downside.

“We know each other’s business,” he said. “They know when I come and go, but it’s not bad. We’re keeping track of each other.”

In all, his parents have eight grandchildren. Six of them were raised in other communities.

“It may have caused a little jealousy because they didn’t get to visit as often,” Kriss Eisenhauer said.

The proximity of his home with his parents’ residence was workable, but Eisenhauer recognizes that it might not be a positive for all families.

“If you tend to get in arguments,” he said, “Probably not. I think each family is unique.

“If you’re a close-knit family, which I think we were, it’s fine. It has been a great experience.”