As we made the left-hand turn onto the street of my childhood, I held my breath and braced myself for what was to come. This was the first time I've seen the house I spent my first eight years of life in since my family decided to pick up our belongings and move away to a new town and a new life. I, like many other children, went through the process of boxing up my whole life, literally, and trusting my parents that this was best for the family.
Fast forward 11 years and on a sudden whim, my parents and I decide, "hey let's stop by the house," as we were conveniently near the town we left behind. As we drove down the street and arrived at our former estate, I was shocked and merely stunned at what we were looking at. To our surprise, the construction site with "CAUTION" tape and a structure that nowhere near resembled our old house had taken over the property that was once beloved to our lives. Why would people do such a thing to a house that contained so many memories?
This was the worst scenario possible for re-visiting an old house. Although physically the residence was gone and the resemblance was indistinguishable, as I looked around the street, the memories still flooded through my mind. The sidewalks on which I spent endless hours chalking colorful portraits shined from the rays of the sunset. The streets that still hadn't been repaved contained cracks and potholes that I would feverishly avoid biking over as I was learning to ride my first two-wheeler. My neighbors houses in which I would play with the other children for endless hours sat peacefully behind their well-manicured lawns. I wondered what happened to those children who were once my friends. Did they eventually move away as I did?
Although I was sad at first to see the big change that had occurred to my house, I couldn't help but smile with gratitude for the many great memories my childhood house brought to me. After my experience, I came to the realization that there really is nothing like your childhood home. Moving houses is a major milestone for some kids, mine included, and the emotion of seeing the house that was once so special can be an emotional experience. First one may feel sadness and resentment for thinking: Was moving away the right choice? How could my life be different if we didn't move? After the initial emotions, looking at the house that was once so lively with love and happiness, those delighted childhood memories start to scatter through the imagination and I cant feel anything except contentment.
As we drove away from the construction zone with an array of emotions, I thought to myself, "this is someone else's home now and they are going to love and appreciate it as much as my family and I did. Let that family create everlasting memories and let the house create a safe and loving environment as I felt it did for my first eight years of life.
