The yellow paint that slowly peeled off every inch of the house. The oak tree that shaded the house so comfortably. The garage that was over packed with things that reminded my grandparents of their youthful days. The sun that we saw, sink behind the river effortlessly, across the street. The pool that as children we spent so much time in, our fingers and toes shriveled. The backyard that was a jungle to my adventurous adolescent self. The dining room table where we spent hours after dinner, laughing till we cried. The memories in the house were so bittersweet, but the day had come.
I pulled into the driveway on February 24th and the white sign I saw in the front yard changed my life forever. I frantically ran down the hallway and burst into my Grandmother’s bedroom.
“Do you want to tell me why that obnoxious sign is staked into the ground?”
“Well… Kaitlin I wanted to tell you earlier. I had every intention to, but it’s time that I move out. You know this house isn’t the same as it used to be, for goodness sake it was built in 1950.” My grandma nonchalant justification irked me more than she would ever know.
A short week passed, and the house strangely already had itself an interested buyer. The next time I pulled into the driveway, I noticed the “FOR SALE” sign was now tacked with a cumbersome “SOLD.” The emotions that ran through my body were scrambled, I felt angry, I felt scared, I felt uneasy, but most of all I felt extremely sad.
However these emotions didn’t flee me, when I walked inside and saw the buyer looking through all the rooms. She was wearing a black business suit, a shiny Michael Kors Watch, and 6 inch tall stilettos. She carried a Lilly Pulitzer notepad around with her, as she inspected every inch of grandma’s house. I tried to wrap my mind around the oxymoron. Why did this high class lady wanted to buy my grandma’s ancient home? Her intentions became clear to me, as the walk through continued. Her notepad became full of dimensions and sketches.
“So what exactly are you writing down?” I anxiously questioned.
“Well, if you couldn’t tell I run a fashion line, and I’m actually planning to transform this fixer-upper into one of my offices,” she turned around and kept analyzing her plans.
“First on my list is the ridiculous paint on the outside walls, then comes the extremely overgrown weeds, and I can’t forget the pool deck outside. I’ve already discussed these plans with my contractor! I’m more than happy to take this crappy house off your hands honesty.”
I stood in complete astonishment. As if I was not upset about grandma’s house getting sold in the first place, now there is a no good nobody destroying it!
“Well I think you’ve seen enough of the house, and your Lilly pulitzer notepad seems to be getting a little full. So you should be on your way now, shouldn’t you?” I made it quite obvious that I was fed up with her.
“Well technically sweet heart, you should be on your way now this house is practically mine!” She snapped back at me.
I smirked sarcastically, and escorted her to the door. My grandma stood with a look of disappointment on her face. We both went and sat at the dining room table, which soon would be replaced with clothing racks and mannequins.
“Grandma how could you sell your house with so many memories to a ruthless lady like her with no good intentions?”
“Kaitlin, you have to realize that sometimes it’s best to cherish things in life for what they are. Not what they’re going to be.” She smiled at me, with the same smile that she portrays every time that she knows she’s right. “You know the house might change, the paint might be rolled over, the landscape might be destroyed,” she paused “but one thing will never change and I promise you that. The memories we’ve made will remain in your heart.”
I left grandma’s house that day without the sorrow I felt arriving. I would never fail to remember thanksgiving dinner with our family of twelve packed around the table. I would never fail to remember the exquisite flowers that overpowered the lawn. I would never fail to remember that every sunset I watched at her house was different, but that was the beauty in it all.