What to do with the Cabin?

Last night, Tracey and I met up with Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Vicki (who arrived a little late from a flight) for dinner at a brewery in Burlingame. The weather was not what you would expect from California with hail the size of gumballs and consistent heavy rain.
The topic ranged from ND basketball (who lost in double-overtime to U of M) to turtles and wine. Much of the discussion centered on Uncle Jim’s new cabin. He has turned the virtual outhouse of cabins into a Mission of 3 stand alone buildings with water (hot water), gas and electricity. And get this…satellite television. I think it is hilarious. For those of us who have been to Uncle Jim and Auntie Vicki’s places, including their home, you know that they are all beautiful buildings in incomparable locations—San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the wine country of Sonoma County. They are also typically very rustic, charming and simple.

"...I can't wait to see their faces when they see the satellite TV. I will have tears runningdown my cheeks; I'll be laughing so hard!"

I think the satellite TV was just a way to show the MFL’ers that Jim Sheridan isn’t to be outdone. Ever. There is nothing that is safe or sacred, save the man upstairs himself, in his search for the greener grass, which, I might add is always just a couple hundred miles down the road. Vicki and Jim’s sense of adventure is contagious and it makes you want to join in the sit-com that is their life.
All this talk of the cabin made me reminisce of the times our family shared there and how it shaped our young lives. It made me realize that family is more important than pretty much everything and making it to mass was more important than what you are wearing or smelling like. It taught me that waking up early is hard, but if you do it you will be rewarded by God. A shower is relatively unnecessary and you can make anything work for a week, even a frozen, 80 year-old well.
All of these good things made keeping the cabin an easy decision. However, in the past couple of years...well, we'll say that the delicate subject of the passing of the family’s matriarch drove a wedge in a seemingly impenetrable family foundation while the family burnt the bridge of forgiveness between themselves. So here we are trying to figure out what to do with our family vacation home. As much as mom must make a decision regarding the cabin, we must help her make a good decision. Should she sell the cabin to Uncle Pete? Should she hang on to it in its current state or clean it up? Should she pull an Uncle Jim and get satellite TV?
I see 3 possible scenarios:

• Cabin is sold to Uncle Peter. No more cabin for the Cronley’s. Possibly put in a clause to have Uncle Pete sell it to us, if he ever does sell.
• Cabin is kept under mom’s name. Leaves us the option of delaying any decision now, but it is unlikely to get much, if any use. The chipmunks are huge fans of this plan since they will not likely be bothered by any humans getting in the way of turning the cabin into a Chipmunk Resort.
• Cabin is purchased from mom by a family member. Is anyone of us in the position to do this or want to? I know that Tracey and I want to have a place to get away but it seems like a few years away before we could even consider,not to mention it is a 6+ hour flight and a 2+plus hour drive to get from anywhere we’ll live in the next 4-5 years.

So given the history of the cabin and the fun we've all shared there, and keeping in mind the unfortunate wedge and burning bridge issue, let's make a good family decision.