Though Still A Work In Progress...Love What They've Done So Far

 Last week, I found myself in my old neighborhood, on a street where I lived off and on for half a century. It's still weird for me to go up the hill, take a left at a dead-end road and drive down the street I drove thousands upon thousands of times.

I don't know if it'll ever not feel weird.

Even though it's only been just over two years since we left, part of the fun of returning is to see things that have changed, and things that have not. The house we built has seen some changes, but it looks pretty much like the way it did when we last drove by. My childhood home, however...

Well, that's gone through a lot of changes.

And I think it looks great.

The last time I drove by, I was able to speak to my good friend who bought the home from us after my mother passed away. He said he was thinking about painting the bricks white. He had already painted the addition white. I like white. The old bricks were more yellow, even though I always thought they were white. Up against the new part of the house, you could really see the yellow in the bricks. I told him I thought painting the bricks would help. I didn't realize how much it did.

Another huge project undertaken by my friend is the construction of a concrete staircase for the main entrance. My father built a wood staircase to get upstairs. Those stairs lasted a good long time (that's redwood for you...). Years ago when my friend told me he planned on putting in concrete steps, I couldn't see it. He's close to finishing the stairs and again, I think they look great.

I was hard, in a way, to see the changes. Of course, nothing ever stays the same. My father who built the house and my mother who raised us in that house were both gone. I was glad someone moved it who was going to make changes needed to bring the structure into the next century. He's done that.

We travel to our old hometown several times throughout the year. I'm sure we'll drive down our old street  again...might be in a few months, might be in a few years. There will be more changes and I for one will be glad to see them, too.