I was able to take a little trip down memory lane over the weekend when we went to Kansas. First, let me give you a little background information:
I grew up in the very same house on the very same farm my entire first eighteen years of life. The first time I lived somewhere else was when I moved into my college dorm room.
When I was a sophomore in college, my parents moved to another farm. After just a few years of not being lived in, the house I grew up in (which was very, very old) became quite run-down and not livable anymore. The owners chose to tear it down.
So the place where my dad and his wife Tacy live now is actually not the house I grew up in. Matt and the boys never got to see the house I grew up in. Kinda makes me sad. When I tell them of my memories growing up, they picture them in the wrong house.
No big deal really…but this weekend I had a big urge to show my family where I grew up. I don’t know why I hadn’t taken them by “the old farm place” before. This trip, I just felt like I needed to.
We headed over there right after church Sunday. Since that’s where this tour started…I took a quick picture of the inside of the church building I was “raised in”. This is also where Matt and I got married 15 years ago.
Before we went to my old home place, Matt drove us by my grandparent’s farm. Someone else lives there now. Ah, but I saw Grandma’s garden area and clothesline and the old shed. You have NO idea how badly I wanted to get out of the van and run down the driveway to see if my boxcar was still back there. I actually really don’t want to know if it isn’t there anymore. I’m just going to imagine that it’s right where I left it twenty-some years ago.
We drove the mile and a half from my grandparent’s place to the farm where I grew up. I thought I might be emotional about being there again, especially since hardly anything was left. Instead, I was elated! I was pointing things out to Matt and the boys and getting breathless about the things I was showing them. In the above picture, there is just prairie grass where my house used to stand. I wish I could walk through that house just one more time.
Here’s where the big red barn used to stand. Now there is just a big field of maize. If you know this story, then this picture will give you a nice chuckle like it gave our family. “Hey kids, here’s our big red barn!”…”What big red barn?” If you don’t know the story, go read it. BUT you must know that while I am responsible for the fact that there is no longer a barn here…I had NOTHING to do with the fact that the house is gone to. m’kay?
Here’s the big huge shed that just a couple of weeks ago caved in. I told the boys that I used to shoot hoops in there and they were impressed (and also surprised). “You DID Mom?”
I realize that to most of you, these shots are just pictures of prairie grass and run down buildings. I guess that’s really all they are. It’s hard to capture all the things I was feeling when I was standing back on my home place.
Millions of memories of my mom came flooding back. Memories of all the things I used to do as a little girl. Memories of playing in the yard and working in the garden. Good grief…I even had fond memories of the pigs when I stood there that day.
It was glorious. I’m going to go back there again sometime soon.
Precious, precious memories.
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