The old saying goes something along the lines of, "Home is where the heart is". Yet growing up, I never really understood that saying. I mean, you think that you do until your childhood home goes up on the chopping block. Looking back, there are so many memories I have with people from all different groups. Memories that won't go away simply because my childhood home will be getting a new family. But in case I do ever lose my complete memory, I will share a few and invite you to share some as well at the end. This post is slightly depressed as I have thought what share but it needs to be done for myself. While I am not a great writer, I do have a strong voice and writing has always allowed me to put my thoughts into a coherent path. (If you really know me, you would know that having a conversation in person with me can go all over the place.) Therefore, this post is about closure of a period of my life that I will always cherish.
Growing up, living so close to all of my neighborhood friends, that's a rarity that many children never know. I was very blessed to live in a location that became known as the central meeting place later on down the road. I suppose that much of this comes from the fact that I made many of the plans for my friends and I, but I didn't mind that. Having parents that went to sleep and pretended not to care that kids were running up and down the stairs at all periods of the day/night was also a large bonus. :)
It also didn't matter what school, church, or family you came from. The house did not judge and allowed everyone to pass through. It supported us when heartbreak happened. It loved us when we did naughty things before our time. And it knew that in the future, everyone would need one steady thing in fall back on, a central meeting place.
Of course, there are people who stick out in my mind with memories specifically:
Curtis - you just came in, plopped down on the chair, and promptly fell asleep
Casey - I cannot even imagine how many cases of oreos my mother had to buy for us when we were in Chemistry
Leslie - Laying in my bed so many times and hearing you say, "My brain is boiling"
Brit - Our relationship changed after high school and for that I am so grateful but I'm not going to lie, most of my memories see you and Travis together. (Sorry Ally!)
Family - Growing up living in a place and having all of you less than 5 miles from me led to a family supportive base that hardly anyone else I know of has. When I was younger and knew that every Friday morning would lead to breakfast at the Kitchen with the whole family!
Josh (brother) - arguing with one another about stupid things and never getting along until our later years
Dad - The one time the junior high came over and you almost blew yourself up with fireworks
Bryant - Several summers ago we had a rave in the back by the pond...thinking about that reminds me of you and your dance moves. Speaking of sweet dance moves:
Darren and Josh - we could always count on your moving abilities
Brent - you always putting me down with some sarcastic comment
Cassi - Dr.Pepper, Frog Prince, no need to go on
There are so many other people that spent hours and hours with me at my house, please don't be offended if I left you out, its just that people who don't know you probably don't care to read about my specific memories :)
To say the least, my house was always there for all of us. And now, a new family is going to get the opportunity to build brand new memories. Its hard for me to be happy for them when it makes me so sad but just as that house loved me, it also deserves to be loved. My parents showed it some deserving love by updating it through the years and it now is gorgeous but don't you ever think that I'll forget that ugly brown carpet that I had in my room forever.
Throughout this post are also some photos from the more recent happenings at the house. As you can see, different people are highlighted in each of them to show that everyone had a great time.
Well such as I said in this title, I have rambled on enough. What I do want to make sure to say now though, is that I truly appreciate you all growing up with my and sharing these memories. I was and am still so blessed!
Family. People have all sorts. I have some in Kansas and some in Pennsylvania. At some points, one has
to realize that each family has its own quirks but you love each of them individually for those specific characteristics. Spending time with my Pennsylvania family has taught me many things over the years. Whet
her its to how to pronounce the term "sausage" or how to eat sauerkraut with mashed potatoes
(which is disgusting by the way), they have a lot to teach me. Atdinnertonight with Farah, we were talking about being homesick and what exactly it means.
Over all, the whole conversation made me think about how I have family of all sorts and sizes in many different places. Many of you reading this belong to that family whether or not you realize it. As I have been into sayings lately, "Home is where the Heart is" describes how I feel writing this. As I sit here just having gotten done skyping with Darren, I am slowly coming to the realization that my friends are my family. I have expanded the level
of participants of the years liv
ing away from my immediate family to fulfill the actions of my family. Therefore, I now have a Kansas, Pennsylvania, EMU, JMU, and Washington DC family. The next level of questions that arise are: where exactly does your family come from and have you expanded your circle lately?
