We Lived Here

Living in Pacific Grove you can't help but drive by the ocean at least once a day. There's a routine to it and I can trace it's path in my head without missing a thing. That drive and the beaches along it have been an integral part of my life. I grew up on them. As a child with my parents and family, playing with friends as I grew older, bonfires on the weekend with my friends in high school. I always liked to laugh at my stepmom Sharon as we would ride around the beach and she would say" We live here." What a silly thing to say I always thought. Now, as I say goodbye and my family slowly migrates up North, I can understand where she was coming from.
I think the fact that we had work to do made this whole process so much easier. Most everything was packed by the time we arrived but the furniture was left. Despite their bad backs ( and one arm and one eye) these are two pretty tough old men. Also, John may think about an eye patch like Bret in Flight of the Conchords.

Of course it's easy to recall all the memories of this house. When my dad fell through the attic, when my mom got her hand stuck to the freezer, drying our hair in front of the fireplace. The steps to our house have always been the same. My sisters and I used to start at the bottom and jump from the first. Then the second, and so on. I was also sitting on the stairs when the contractor came about the foundation at the very start of the remodeling decade. I remember him saying that remodeling was probably the #1 cause of divorce. I carried that fear with me until unfortunately my parents did divorce. This window here is at the front of our house. There was a large floor vent there that we would stand over in our nightgowns to get warm. My mom always laid our clothes out for us the night before so our mornings were never rushed. We spent a lot of time waiting in the car for my dad and I remember the Sunday morning that my Mom honked the horn and my Dad mooned us from this window. Hmm, maybe it wasn't the remodeling after all. Maybe that and the peppermint schnapps and garlic incident. I know that this is going to be difficult for my Mom. There is nothing I can say. It was sad to walk out that door knowing that I will never be there again. But for me, I feel it has been a gradual process. The places I remember best have changed or are gone. My memories will include the room that held the refrigerator, it's own tiny room that had crystals in the windows. I loved to sit on the brown, corduroy like floor and watch the rainbows spin around the room while my mom cooked. The old dining room, with the wallpaper, there used to be a wicker horse in there. My mom and dads friends Carol and David once camped out there as they were building their home. THE CLOSET. The closet in our bedroom was a walk in hardwood floor closet with built in drawers. This is where I spent quite a bit of time in lock down. I have so much in my head it would take days to relive it all. Mostly though I remember being loved in that house. The occupants may have changed a couple of times but it was always a safe place and it has always been inhabited by people who love me. It's time for us to be all together though and I hope that you will know Mom that your house will change but all we really need is you. My two babies are worn out from too much fun. Grandpa just could not stop watching SpongeBob and we need a TV detox. Thank you for such a great visit, I cannot wait until you are here. Thank you also for providing us such an amazing place to grow. I cannot wait to be your chauffeur.