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summer sunburnt shoulders After work this morning, I drove to my parents place. My reason for going there was simple. I wanted to swim in the pool one more time before they move. It sounds silly, but it's what I wanted to do. The forecast had said a high of ninety today and it was already eighty-six when I got out of work. For me that was perfect swimming weather and my morning straight into the afternoon was completely free. Spending hours floating in the cool water wasn't going to be a problem for me. Before I jumped into the pool there was something else that I wanted to do. I wanted to take some photos of the house and surrounding landscape. Even though I'll be back there next week, I suspect that there won't be much time for pictures when we are loading boxes into the moving truck. Today gave enough me time to get as many angles as possible. By the time that I was done, I had taken close to three dozen photos of the house and yard. Now taking pictures of ones parents house might sound strange, but nineteen years of my life are tied to that place. I want something to help trigger the memories and to go with the stories I have to tell years from now. Plus so much has changed since we as a family first moved there almost two decades ago. Trees that I could step over now stand taller than the house. Three versions of a garden have come and gone. What was once a farmers field is now a well mown lawn peppered with trees. I think that I had said that the house wasn't where I grew up, which is true, but half of my life revolved around it. Now all of that will come to an end next week. Suddenly the rest of the year will be full of first times. For example, both Thanksgiving and Christmas will seem different this year. Yes, the same people will be there, but the setting will be new. For the most part the weather cooperated with my goal of spending as much time in the pool as possible even with the ever vanishing sun. One moment it would be pounding down with all of its strength and then the next disappear behind tall cumulus clouds that shout out that summer is here. Seeing boxes scattered throughout the house was odd. It was something that completely transformed the place and it shook me up a little. One could clearly see that they were ready to go and that nineteen years is plenty of time to acquire things. In fact my parents would sat they acquired too many things over the years and that they've reached the point where they just toss things out rather than wanting to move them. They might even have another rummage sale once they are in their new place to get rid of some more stuff that they don't need anymore. Despite all of this chaos, the move to the new house should be a good thing for my parents. This is the second house that they had built and this one won't have to endure the abuse of four growing children. Not only will that be a nice change, but the new house won't be as much of a chore in terms of upkeep. They love the pool, but maintaining it does cost money and takes time. Once they move that won't be a problem anymore. Plus neither of them is going to miss having to spend hours to cut the lawn. Hopefully the new house will be more relaxing for them. While I was there my brother called to finalize the details of the move next week such as when to arrive and so on. Then before he hung up the phone, he made an announcement about something that is going to happen in the not so distant future. It seems that my parents are going to be grandparents for a second time. |