“They were just some sticks built up around us”, I told her as she cried.

She was asking if there was anything else I could have saved.

I said, “No, Mom. It’s all gone. It’s time to let it go now.”

“Dad’s not there, you’re not there, none of us are there. It’s time to close that chapter.”

That was my conversation with my Mom a few weeks ago, as I went to gather some precious photos from the house I had once lived in.

My Mom left that house almost 6 years ago, after my Dad passed away.

It was abandoned.

A symbol of a crumbling family foundation that began so many years ago.

Before we went to my hometown, my children and husband had cautioned me not to go inside.

But, I am strong and I know I need this closure.

It had been 20 years since I had breathed within those walls.

It was time.

As we pulled up, my heart truly sank.

My old house was literally falling down.

I could recall sitting on those same front steps as the parade went by.

Walking home into that driveway every day after school, and eating the parsley my Groom had been growing, underneath the clothesline that no longer stood.

A time gone by.

I felt solid as I reminisced… until I stepped inside of the front porch and saw the old front porch chair.

A chair with so much history.

Battered, abandoned, just sitting there.

So much history…..of mine.

I was first introduced to the Bible in that very chair. Upon my Grandma’s lap, as her finger moved across the pages. Seeing it, I could feel her comforting touch for a moment.

I don’t have a lot of childhood memories of my Dad, but we did spend a lot time in that porch, while he sat in that very chair. He’d gaze out the windows, we’d negotiate why he shouldn’t drink that night, and sometimes we’d just talk about life and eat ice cream. I now cherish those summer nights.

That chair held my Mom in it, as she sipped her coffee. There were many summer mornings of secrets, as I snuck in from a night out.

She knew.

She always knew.

But, she’d get me a cup of coffee and we’d chatter for hours about my latest adventure and she’d share about some of her teenage ones, too.

That porch housed many sleepovers with my best friends. We’d go on midnight walks, share laughter and felt so free.

The Chair.

The Porch.

That’s what got to me.

Don’t you ever forget where you came from, I thought.

This is huge part of me.

A piece of my overcoming. It’s from where I draw my strength.

It’s in the days that have passed that I lived through. It’s in the nights I never thought I’d get through. It’s who I am.

Almost 50, I walked into that house with pride. I survived.

Within these walls, are stories that I have lived to tell.

And to me, there is POWER in that.

I’m here to tell you to let it go. Let it all go and accept.

We cannot undo what has been done, nor can we change what others chose to do.

However; we can focus on healing and improving who we are as WE grow.

There was once a FAMILY that lived and LOVED within these walls.

Together, we faced struggles, we laughed, we shared Holidays and Birthdays…and a past.

Memories of my Grandma float between the bricks of those four walls. Her sandbakkels baking, and how we picked the grapes to make jelly.

My Mom’s intuition fills the air, her all knowing strength will always precede me.

I can still hear my sandals clip clopping up our old stairs, as I snuck in.

I can still smell my Strawberry Shortcake doll, the fragrance of coffee being brewed, and hear American Top 40 with Casey Casem playing, on a Sunday afternoon in my old room.

And, as I gazed into our old dining room, from the front porch door, I could see my Dad and I. How we’d sit at that old table on a cold winter’s night and sing.

Hank Williams Jr, Charles Pride, and my Dad’s, now priceless reminders and sometimes, his tears.

Back then, I hated those nights.

But in that moment, I now know why it all happened the way it did.

I’m learning, that as time passes, which is certain it will, all we have left to hang onto are the Memories.

The good ones, the bad.

The conversations, the lessons.

Hang onto them, my friends.

For one day, when that “old house” is crumbling and everything around you has changed, that is what you will have.

Standing there, in the driveway, with a smile on my face, a tear streaming down, and so much Gratitude in my heart.

For it all.

Don’t sweat the small stuff, for it too, will pass.

Everything is Temporary….except for the Memories….those are what last.🙏

This Thanksgiving and every day,

BE THANKFUL

and more importantly, TRUST IN HIM.

His plans are always more amazing than our minds could ever conceive.

Closing the Chapter of 507 forever.

Thanks for the memories and for being my shelter and this time, my Strength 💜.

Much love to all,

Linda