When I was searching online for a picture of the side-by-side duplex that housed my Grandparents on one side and my Aunt Essie, Uncle Bob and Uncle Russ on the other, I saw that my Gram’s former home is listed for sale.
This is the first time I’ve seen pictures of it since I last visited there as a grad school kid. I hung out there so often as a child. We ate family dinner there every Sunday for my first 7 years. We celebrated all holidays there. I slept over there so often that Gram’s house was like a second home to me.
I have vivid memories of her house. It had the biggest bathroom I’d ever seen. It always smelled of stale cigarette smoke since all the adult smoked endlessly. There was a tiny kitchen overlooking a huge back yard. She had a side porch off of the kitchen where I’d sit with my Grandpa on warm summer night, stealing swigs of his cold, sweaty beer while we stared at the blinking antenna lights on radio towers perched miles away on the mountains and he told me stories about football, work and life.
There was a porch swing underneath the porch, where I’d swing with my Gram or my friends.
Upstairs, there was a secret stairwell that led to a two room attic that had two army cots, a few wicked looking cacti, my uncle’s old army bag and a few back and white pictures of people long gone. It was like stepping into a long neglected museum.
I loved my Gram and Grandpa. I loved their home.
So when I saw there were 37 photos of it, I was thrilled!
Except – somebody gutted the house and updated it completely. The kitchen was expanded. Gone were the metal cabinets and linoleum floors – replaced with pottery barn style white cabinets, marble countertops and the latest stainless steel appliances.
A half bathroom was added to the living room.
The upstairs bathroom was completely redone with a stall shower, a jetted tub, cabinets and a walk-in closet.
The museum like attic was finished and air conditioning was added.
The walls were all painted white. The floors were completely torn out and replaced with trendy gray hardwood.
I barely recognized anything, except the exterior of the home, the side porch and the yard.
And wow – were these small. So small compared to the images in my mind from so long ago, when I wasn’t that big myself.
I like my memories better.