Memories

I met a friend for a playdate and to catch up with her last week. We met at a playground about halfway between us. It was the first time I'd been to this playground, but I had actually been here many times before. When I was little, we used to walk to this park and play at the same spot. Except the playground which existed 25 years ago was completely different. The slides were metal and the climbing structures were wood. About 5-7 years ago, they tore the old one down and replaced it with a new, modern playground for children. I miss the nostalgia of the old playground, but that's about it. It's nice not to burn your butt on the way down the slide during the summer and not worry about splinters from holding onto the railings as you walked across the play structure. 

After our playdate, I took the scenic route home. I drove by my childhood home which wasn't far. It was the first home my dad purchased when he started working in the area. We lived there for just under 10 years before moving to the house my dad currently resides in. When we moved, my parents chose to sell the house for under market value. We knew what was wrong with it and wanted it sold and sold fast. An offer was made and the house was sold in three days. This may sound like no surprise now as we've had a seller's market in the area for the last five plus years. However, this was 20 years ago, and that was really fast. 

The buyer who purchased the house from my parents is not the current owner. That buyer sold the house a few years after we sold it and it was purchased by someone else. They have been there for the last 15 years or so. I've always been curious what the inside of the house looks like now. As I drove by, I noticed the landscaping was completely redone on the outside of the house. The crape myrtles are still growing by the side of the house, and I was happy to see the owners have let them grow properly and trimmed them correctly so they don't form the ugly knots. The front door was swapped out to a modern iron door, and I would only assume the inside of the house has been updated to suit their style and modernized as well. 

I remember having dreams of my childhood home, even after we'd moved out of it. Most of them weren't good because I didn't have many good memories of that house. The irony is, all of the problems we disliked about the house were just normal homeowner problems of age and time. Nothing was really "wrong" with it. When my husband and I bought our own house six years ago, we were seeing the exact same problems as the house I grew up with, but unfortunately, it was a seller's market, so houses were selling above market value and no less. 

Ironically, the house we purchased was very similar to the house I grew up in. Spec wise, the square footage was almost identical and the number of rooms the same. We liked nothing about the inside of the house and remodeled and painted as we could. We are still making changes inside little by little. 

The neighbor’s son came over once a few years back to pick up a package delivered to us by mistake. When he stepped inside, he said how different it looked from before. When he was little, he actually came over to our house and would play with the former owner’s son. So he has seen the true before and after of this house. 

I’m not going to get a reason to walk into my childhood home. Sometimes I randomly check to see if it’s listed for sale and if there are any photos. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d want to see it. My memories of that house include the knotty wood paneling, carpeted bathrooms, and being sent to the garage when I got into trouble. But I also have memories of climbing into the linen closet and laying on the shelves, exploring our master closet and thinking how huge it was, and plucking up the moss which grew in the backyard landscaping and uncovering earthworms. 

I think I’d rather keep the memories.