10 Violet Drive

I made two lefts, three rights, and saw the home that I spent so many years and had so many memories in. Some thingswere the exact same, and somewhere different. The hunter green shutters were still faded, the single tree was still standing, and the mailbox still had a tiny dent from when I backed down the driveway, a little too fast. 

The fence was new, replaced by the neighbors. It was only a fence, but it was the fence where I learned how to pitch for softball, and spent numerous hours outside practicing. My spray painted pitching box was gone, like the neighbors just erased it without thinking twice. I thought this fence was just a fence, but emotions started to swarm me; like the huge wave that creeps up on you out of no where, when you aren’t looking at the ocean.  I thought the fence was just a meaningless object, but it actually cared some importance to me. I was nervous to see my house from the inside, like a high school girl on the first day of class. I was scared to see what else changed, or if my room was still the same sky blue color. 

I was surprised to see the inside look exactly the way I remember it. The third step still cracked, the paint chips in the hallway from moving furniture were still there, and my height chart was still along the wall. All of these things were easy cosmetic fixes, so why didn’t the new owners fix these? I was confused, but yet relieved. I felt as if my home still had parts of myself and my childhood left in it. We no longer owned the house, but you could still tell that my family left it’s own footprint. Like when you are walking along the beach in the early morning and you can look over your shoulder, and see your track of footprints. The footprints may erase in time, but you always know where you start walking at. This house was like the start of my own footprints for the beginning years of my life. 

I loved my house as a child, and I continued to. I had a special spot for what I called my home for so long. This place wouldn’t change my memoires just because a couple of changes were made; it was still my home, and would always be home to me.