Moving Day

No, not for us but for my Mom. On April 7th the movers showed up at the house where I have spent nearly my entire life. I couldn't be there and maybe that was for the best because I was much more emotional about it than I anticipated. Fortunately several of my sisters were there to help so Mom was not alone. I can't speak for her but I imagine the weight of memories and work involved to get to moving day has been lifted. Now hopefully she can hang the picture of our house on the wall in her new place and remember those days fondly.
It's hard to put into words what this house has meant to me. In some ways it is me. We moved in before I turned a year old. And I have moved back in and out more times than I would like to admit. With the exception of my parents room, I have slept in every bedroom at one time or another. Those bushes in the front used to be thicker because I hid behind them and smoked my first cigarette. I believe I was in the seventh grade when I found the white filtered stick on the floor of my sister's car. My age should be enough to explain why I decided to light it below an open window when my Mom and others were sitting in the room. They walked out the front door and looked down at me squatting in a cloud of smoke. Luckily that was the first of only a handful of cigarettes that I would smoke in my entire life. So many "firsts" happened there that I can't begin to recall them all. I won't embarrass myself and mention all the things that went on in our basement. All I can say is, don't go there! Funny how all the questionable things come to mind right now, but really the joyous and carefree moments far outweigh any shenanigans.

My parents probably should have moved a few years ago, but Dad refused to give it up. In the end, he was right about that too. It was so nice to have all that space for everyone to gather on the day we buried him. He would have liked that. I guess in some ways the house is him, too. Soon there will be a "For Sale" sign in the yard. I just wonder how many times I'll pull in the drive by accident once it belongs to someone else. Hopefully they will change the locks. So long old house, you will not be forgotten.