I made the mistake of driving past the place where I grew up a few days ago. I was in the area on business and couldn't resist driving down the same old familiar road. I could have driven down that road and pulled in to that driveway with my eyes closed.
Having my eyes closed would have helped.
Growing up we had a nice place. It was large house on high ground with beautiful, well-groomed trees and big yard. It was neat and clean and cared for. It was vibrant and welcoming.
Now… not so much.
It's so sad how things have changed. Now it's desolate. Everything is gray and unpainted, broken and buried under junk metal and trash. The yard has deep ruts scarring it in several places (we generally avoided driving in the yard). The outbuildings are in disrepair and whole property is littered with debris of every kind. There's a whole swath of trees that have died and are gone now. The other trees and bushes have grown wild and look horrible. The ditches haven't been mowed since we left nor the hedge trimmed. I was half surprised they bothered to change the name on the mailbox.
I almost had the nerve to go knock on the door and complain. Why don't you take care of your stuff?! How can you let this look so awful?! Aren't you embarrassed?!
In the movie Gone With the Wind, Scarlett is told, "Do you mean to tell me, Katie Scarlett O'Hara, that Tara, that land, doesn't mean anything to you? Why, land is the only thing in the world worth workin' for, worth fightin' for, worth dyin' for, because it's the only thing that lasts."
Sorry but no. The land does not define our family and it never will. That property belongs to other people now and it's no use being upset about what happens to hedges and outbuildings. All of the trees and structures were destined to fall down someday. In this case, someday is now.
But our family and faith goes ever on…
4 comments:
Jared, I can totally empathize with you. My old place growing up is pretty much now exactly how you describe yours. It makes me sad and angry, too. My parents spent a lot of time making it look so nice. The back yard where my brother and I had so many memories is now more like an overgrown jungle! My pets are buried back there :(
My old place is kind of hard to avoid. It's 50 feet across the street from the church back home. The house is even in some of our wedding pictures where Dave and I are coming out of the church after our wedding. Oh, well--I guess it matched Dave's beat up old pickup we drove off in.
Thanks. I think I needed that venting session! I feel much better now. :)
Erin
Hey wait a second, my pickup wasn't that beat up. It had its flaws, but it wasn't a heap. As I remember it you liked that pickup!
Later
David
Jared,
You are not Catholic, which is the only real religon. How can you look your children in the face?
Nice try....
Going past the old home is like the scene in "Lion King" when the prideland is taken over by Simba's evil uncle, Scar. The land turned from a lush green, almost tropical scene full of life, to a dark and deserted wasteland where everything was gray and dying and the sky was overcast...
Maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but it sure seemed like it!
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