The Place I Call Home Once Again

Arguably the most interesting thing about my childhood home is that when I turned 19, it became my home again. A house that was once full of children and cats and constant noise now only holds my two dogs and myself. It is extremely weird to live in my childhood home by myself, but it’s also interesting as I already know all the quirks about the house. Though I’ve changed a lot of things, the essence of the house it was before is still the same. The first thing anyone notices about my childhood home is the U-shaped driveway that blesses the yard. Though it should be an easy driveway to use, it never fails to confuse anyone who stops by. It’ all gravel, and connects not only to my childhood home, but also to my grandmother’s. Our home went one direction, and hers went another. If they were pressed closer together, they’d form an L. Once a guest would finally figure out which house was ours, they’d notice the awful siding that nearly always looked like it needed a power wash no matter how recently it had gotten one. There was never a front porch, no matter how badly we wanted one. Only a set of stairs with 5 steps on it led to the front door. On occasion, the white door would be adorned with a colorful wreath for various holidays. Beside these stairs were several rose bushes; always pink rose bushes. At first glance when entering the door, light pours in from everywhere. The sliding glass door, the kitchen window, the living room windows. My mom always wanted the curtains pulled back to let in as much natural light as possible. It was always bright and warm in the house. The living room is the first full room you see when you walk in, but the house has an open floor plan so you can see the kitchen and dining room as well. The living room was carpeted (a very beige, dingy carpet) and contained a gray sectional sofa and entertainment center for the TV. The living room was nearly always covered in toys, blankets, and anything you could imagine a child making a mess with. My mom was never the most tidy person, and it was extremely hard for her to keep up with the messes 4 kids can make.

The kitchen and dining room were a whole other ball park for mess. The dining room was kept clean; nothing on the tables, the tile floor always swept and free of items. Though, the kitchen was tough to keep up with. With four kids that were too young to help do the dishes, the sink was always filling up quickly. Four kids can make it through a lot of food and a lot of dishes! It was also difficult to keep the cats off the countertops, so there was always paw prints of fur having to be wiped off. My parents bedroom was always cluttered. My mom hid anything she didn’t want us getting into on her bookshelves and desks. They also had a separate TV in their room for adult only movies and TV, though we were always begging for her to put on a Disney movie so we could watch it in her bed. Moving toward the back of the house, you’ll notice the largest room toward the back of the house is a huge mess! This room was the playroom, and it was always full of toys that were always being thrown onto the ground and scattered everywhere. Barbie dolls, legos, baby toys, you name it and it was probably on the floor somewhere! Us kids always had a difficult time learning how to clean up after ourselves, and it was always apparent when you went into the playroom. Explaining our bedrooms would be difficult, as we were always switching around. There was only 3 bedrooms for four kids, so we always rearranged everything so that we could take turns sharing rooms! My favorite bedroom memory was sharing with my sister who was just a year younger than me. We each had a loft bed, with a ladder and a desk underneath. We were always staying up late and laughing at every little thing. We’d jump off the beds and put blankets between the beds to make a fort. It was pure bliss for two little girls. A true childhood dream in my childhood home.