Pond Gap, West Virginia.
A place that isn't very memorable and definitely average, but also a place that I learned to ride a bike; the place that I got my bruises from playing outside and the place that makes me feel like a kid again.
We grow up to be completely different people; people that when we were kids, never imagined we would become what we are today. We want to be astronauts, rockstars, movie stars... But it usually doesn't play out that way. As the years go on, your attachment to your home distances and loosens its grip on you. We move away, go to school, get jobs, and it all becomes a far memory. So when was it that we started to lose that sense of childhood inside of us?
I grew up in a simple place with a lot of land, right next door to my grandpa. In the summers while I would play outside, I could always count on him to give me a cold popsicle and a cup of ice water before I would venture off again. Whether it be riding my bike, making up games with my siblings or just sitting outside with my dogs- it always felt natural. He would take me out on his four-wheeler and now that I'm older, I wish I could spend one more day as a kid doing those things.
Adulthood comes and hits like a truck; something that nobody really sees coming their way. But my only escape is when I'm back sitting in the porch swing, listening to the birds chirp and waiting for the sun to go so I could run bare-footed to go catch lightning bugs.
While it has been long since I have lived in this area, it reminds of where I came from. Being in the mountains, the smell of rain in the air and having the comfort of my family close is what makes it my happy place. I really love to value my time and being there makes me feel very nostalgic; it brings back old memories that I have long tucked away in the back of my mind.
When you go home, that's when the nostalgia hits. The familiarity of waking up and smelling the breakfast your grandpa is cooking for you, the cold morning air that turns crisp in the fall, the peace and quiet that can put you to sleep.
But we all know those things come to an end. But to my home, I'll always know you'll be there when I need to escape my reality.
I'll know that the comfort of my childhood is waiting for me.
