avatarTrish Church

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Going Back to The Old Homestead and How It Made Me Feel

Have you ever returned to a house that wasn't supposed to be changed in your mind?

Have you ever returned to a childhood home after being away for many years? Maybe the first home that you bought, but you last saw it a long time ago. You have a picture in your head and your heart of what this house looks like. The only stable and consistent home for me was my grandparent's home.

Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash

The first time I revisited as an adult, there was new siding, and dormers were added. It looked good. I approved of this facelift, and my grandma liked it. My grandpa had passed, and my grandma had moved within walking distance of her church; she didn't drive. The new owners had given Grandma a tour. She told me about some of the changes they made inside. This was a small town where everybody knew everybody. The yard looked much smaller than I remembered as a child. I used to play croquet in the sideyard, and it felt like a football field.

The last time I visited was to put a wreath on my grandma's grave. And I wanted my husband to see the Lovering homestead. That was how it was always referred to. We took a drive and parked in front. I was so upset. My husband asked what was wrong. Well, the newest owner built a garage and put it on the wrong side of the house. The driveway that I knew was on the other side of the house. And this garage was huge. If it was a little garage where the old driveway was, I could accept the addition of a garage. This garage was built to house a semi.

How dare someone change my memories! Have you ever experienced this? I felt like my childhood had been removed. But that wasn't all. The tree my grandpa had hung a swing from for me was gone.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Now, we're not done yet. The garage was sitting where my grandma's flower garden was. Grandma had such a green thumb, which I sadly didn't inherit. At this point, my husband just took me in his arms and told me he understood. He had gone through something similar with his mom's house. Then, I felt like he was the only one who understood.

If you have ever experienced a feeling like this, I would love to hear about it.

Grandparents
Home
Memories Of Childhood
Life Lessons
Changes In Life
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