A place that I have very strong memories is my old neighborhood that I grew up in. It’s  crazy to think that I lived in three different houses in the same neighborhood all across the street from each other. Although I think each house holds its own special memories and I correlate each house to different stages in my life. 

To start, is the very first house, a small brown ranch that backed up to woods. It was the home My mom got after my parents divorced, and to me it represents independence. It was a cute little home and my three siblings and I all had our own rooms. It felt weird to have my own room, considering I had shared a room with Mia all my life. I was on my own, falling asleep all by myself for the first time. Even though we didn’t share a room we would still have “sleepovers” with each other. This was the house where our dog had passed but we got our new, present time dog. It’s where we got all new neighborhood friends and had a fresh start. Across the street from this house were our neighbors who had this really cool swing set and we would spend hours upon hours playing on it. Right by that same house with the swingset was our next house, but we didn’t know that yet. We spent all our time exploring in the woods and running around the neighborhood. We discovered our favorite spots in the woods and sometimes would get poison ivy, but that never stopped us from going back. Until all of a sudden the owner of the house had to sell it and we had to move out.

Next, was the bricked up split level house. I always loved the way this house looked from the outside, so moving into it felt like a fever dream. This house was just a little smaller and Mia and I were back to sharing a room. This house was filled with adventure. I will never forget the birthday I had in this house when I had a broken arm and strep throat. This was the house my oldest sister got her first boyfriend, who is now the father to her kid. Also the house where my oldest sister and brother got into a huge fight and broke a hole in the wall. I remember my brother and I always fighting, him always hurting me and getting in trouble, but then letting me beat him up. The house where he got in so much trouble, even got OSS, because he was a crazy kid. It’s when some new boys moved into the neighborhood and I got my first “boyfriend.” When Hannah would come over and I would show her the rope swing and zipline everyone was playing on. There were some fun but crazy memories in this house that didn’t last long because again, we had to move.

This next house came as a surprise to us all. My mother swore she would never live in this house because of the people who had it before us. But after she saw the renovations made and the fact it was perfect for our current situation, we made the move. This house reminds me of closure and maturing. In this house both my oldest sister and brother graduated high school. Mia and I still shared a room. I had started middle school and Mia had started high school. Throughout the few years we lived here, we slowly drifted from old neighborhood friends. We went through crazy neighbors and covid. We all were growing and learning. This house is tied with some crazy memories but also helped us learn a lot.

Overall, these three houses are tied with so many memories and crazy times. It’s funny to think how everything always works out in the end. How there are different stages and seasons of life. We never stop growing and learning and everyday is a new memory. I’m so grateful for these memories and for how God’s plan has worked out in my family’s life.