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Aubrey and Florence purchased the house at 2115 Westwood Ave. in 1942. With the exception of a few years when they made their home on Robin Hill Road, they lived there until their deaths in March, 1991, and April, 1995. Reluctantly, family members decided to sell the house, there being no family member who could live there. The house sold in October, 1998. |
Goodbye, Dear House
Becky Burns
Goodbye, dear house . . . we'll all miss you.
I suppose you're really just so much wood, brick, and mortar and that such things shouldn't be missed. But we'll miss you just the same.
We'll miss driving down your back alley and parking in your carport.
We'll miss running up your back steps into the door that always seemed to be open.
We'll miss the mob that always met us at that door . . . hugging and backpatting and kissing in that tiniest of spaces.
We'll miss the ice cream that was always in your freezer.
We'll miss those dark, steep basement stairs and the damp yet wonderful smell that met us as we carefully climbed down.
We'll miss hunting for rabbits in your backyard.
We'll miss spinning the spinning wheel. (How can that house NOT have a spinning wheel at the top of the stairs?)
We'll miss sliding down those stairs.
We'll miss cramming into the den and trying to watch TV (or two TV's) with people talking all around.
We'll miss grouping in the living room for Battleship, the Dictionary Game, and Talent Shows.
We'll miss the scent that is distinctly yours.
We'll miss signing your Guest Book and looking back to see who all your many visitors were over the years.
We'll miss the click, click, click of cameras everywhere.
We'll miss the little table sticking out of the wall in the kitchen and the little white stools.
We'll miss playing with the canes.
We'll miss the creaking of your old wooden floors.
We'll miss those wonderful, ugly green bookshelves that lined the walls in your study.
We'll even miss your bathrooms and standing in line for a shower!
We'll miss it all, dear house. We'll miss these and countless other little details that would take an entire book to record.
But you've given us a lifetime of memories to treasure! You, along with those dear, departed loved ones who raised our family and gave us such a rich heritage.
And these are just the memories of one grandchild. There are many, many more individual memories as well as memories from before my time. No, we shouldn't miss such things . . . but we will. But though we can no longer walk through your halls, we will always have you . . . in our hearts and in our memories. And we'll always have each other.
And now there's a new family residing within your walls. Take care of them as you did us. May they have many, many happy memories during their time with you. I can't think of a better place to begin.