Home is where your heart is....what does that even mean? Whenever I hear someone say that, it instantly makes me think of the line "home is where your heart it, so your real home's in your chest" - which is a line from a song in Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog*. Hence the picture of Captain Hammer up there. I get what the statement means, I do. It means that you always have the people you love with you in your heart & so there is where you truly find home. If you have the ones you love around you, then home can be in a hut in Africa or an igloo in the Arctic or wherever. My home; for the past 13 years, has been a house on Mayatt Road with with three bedrooms, two & a half bathrooms, a bonus room, a living room/dining room/kitchen & even a sunroom. It is also filled with lots of memories. So - I'm gonna share a few of my fondest memories from my home. Because in less than two months, all I'll have are the memories from my home & someone else will be making new memories there. Sigh.
*If you have never seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you must find a way to watch it ASAP. It is quite possibly one of the greatest things I have ever watched. I mean - I knew Neil Patrick Harris could sing (because I'll be honest, I kind of love NPH) but I had no idea that Nathan Fillion (Castle anyone?) could sing. Plus - both Neil Patrick Harris & Nathan Fillion are not hard to look at. I assure you - it is 45 minutes that will just be epic. Okay, well maybe 43 because I guess the last 2 minutes aren't as epic as the first 43, but you get my point. You should go watch it. Now. All 5 of you that actually follow me & are reading this. :)
I remember my 13th birthday. Maybe this memory isn't necessarily "fond", but I remember it well. We moved into the house about a month before my birthday & so I got to be the first one to have a big party/get together/hoopla in our new house! All my cool friends came over & we had a cookout. Once we had finished eating our delicious food, blowing out the candles & opening all the cool presents, my friends I just wandered around in the yard - talking about boys & clothes & hair & all that other stuff that 13 year olds are obsessed with. We got to the end of the driveway & we were just kind of taking in the busted up trailers that were across the street & I was explaining to them about how the junkyard looking trailers across the street was "really the only drawback to living here" when we see a guy walking up the road. Carrying a scythe. A scythe. We all watched in frozen horror as the guy just walked right passed us & down the road, swinging his scythe all the while. Once he was out of sight, we all fled back up the driveway & proceeded to discuss the possibility of my whole family being killed in our sleep by the guy with the scythe. A wonderful ending to a spectacular 13th birthday. Thanks scythe guy - you gave me a memory that now cracks me up.
Another great memory - coming home from my first prom. I was only 15, but my boyfriend was older & so I got to go to prom. Let me just say, I was looking pretty cute. Except for the crazy Barbie doll hair that the stupid hairdresser gave me. I specifically said "not poufy" & yet when I left, poufy. But I digress.... My boyfriend brought me home from prom (it was actually his prom, not mine. I was just the date) & in the driveway of the house he proceeded to turn on "our" song & dance with me. I mean - to a 15 year old, that was big stuff. Granted, the romantic moment got interrupted with the realization that a beetle had somehow gotten into my dress. After I flew inside to have my Mom (who was still up at 4-something waiting on me, so sweet) extract the bug from the layers of fluffy dress, I went back outside & finished my dance. That is a great memory. Dancing in the driveway. That could be a song...
Moving right along - I remember getting my car for Christmas in 2002. I had no clue what was going on. All I knew was that something was up because my Mom kept "forgetting" who this present belonged to & so Lindsey & I had to pass it back & forth & keep unwrapping it, layer by layer. Finally my Mom says "oh yeah, that's right - it is Natalie's present" & I got to open the last little box. There, on a puffy little cloud of jewelry fuzz was something far more beautiful than jewelry. It was a car key! I can't really describe the moment - we have it on film somewhere & it is pretty funny. I almost broke my neck getting to the front door & flinging it open & that is when the screaming began. I think I opened & closed the doors of that car so many times to make sure it was really mine & was really real. Also - having a new car meant that I got to have a spot in the garage. The slot on the right was for "Natalie's Car" & that was awesome. Good times.
Another memory I have is of the Christmas Eve party we have every year. After going to the church for the Christmas Eve service, the Summerlins, the McKeithens, the Watsons & the Deans would go back to our house & proceed to have an awesome party. There is always more food than anyone can ever hope to eat. There are conversations, jokes, laughter & most of all, a lot of love. Some other people have come from one year to the next, but those families are the core group. This group of people (most are family, some are not but they might as well be) are people that I know love me & the one thing I remember most about this party is knowing that on Christmas Eve, I am surronded by so many people that love & care about me & my family. That is truly a blessing. Some people can't name the people that care for them on one hand - I am lucky enough to not have enough fingers (or toes for that matter) to count all the people that care for me. We have gained some members (McKenna was born into this group. The Christmas we started it, she was still in utero, but it has been a staple of her Christmas Eve from a time before she was even born) & we have lost some members (Papaw. I miss you) but it is a guarantee that every Christmas Eve, the house would be filled with people. Not sure what will happen now.
-seen two little girls grow into young women
-sheltered a family through the loss of a parent & a grandparent
-provided a safe haven from the storm's of life, whether they be literal or emotional
-been a safe place to come home to when you wanted to escape the stresses of college life
-seen hearts break & mend, some hearts having done this multiple times
-seen two girls learn all about first love (and loss)
-been taken over by several furry creatures, both the feline & canine persuasion
-been wounded by a young driver pushing the gas instead of the brake (yes, it was me)
-had snow tracked through it, which is interesting since it is in the deep South
Most of all, my house has been a home. It has provided me with a lifetime of memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. So, to the people who will be moving into our house - please cherish it. It has cherished my family for 13+ years & we have loved it right back. It is a house that was built with love & has been filled with love since the first bits of the foundation were poured. Please love our house (I guess it is really your house now) because we have loved it.
gee whiz make a gal cry why don't ya?? and no i have never seen it but promise too as soon as i have internet that will be consistent for 43 minutes!
ReplyDelete*sniff sniff*
ReplyDeletemakes me think about all the memories i sorted through when i left my mom and dad's house in 2007.