{"id":13571,"date":"2021-03-16T15:07:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T19:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briwebapp.net\/cfgxfm\/?p=13571"},"modified":"2021-03-16T15:40:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T19:40:10","slug":"the-view-from-here-the-house-that-built-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briwebapp.net\/cfgxfm\/blogs\/afternoons\/2021\/03\/the-view-from-here-the-house-that-built-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The View From Here – The House That Built Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eve posted the question on the Fox Facebook page earlier today “Have you ever gone back to your old home or neighbourhood just to take in the nostalgia and childhood memories?<\/em>” and I started nodding my head as I read it.<\/p>\n

Absolutely I have.<\/p>\n

There’s the childhood house in Streetsville where we grew up.\u00a0 My brother took me on a drive through the “old neighbourhood” years ago when we were down for a visit.\u00a0 So interesting to see how much it’s changed, but how much it still looks the same.\u00a0 Memories of childhood.\u00a0 Simple days.\u00a0 Neighbourhood friends.<\/p>\n

Then there’s the “house that built me”.\u00a0 \u00a0 There’s a song I love by Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me”<\/em>.\u00a0 Those lyrics became even more real to me a few years ago when I was invited to go back to the home I spent my teenage years.<\/p>\n

I met a women through a grief support group on Facebook.\u00a0 \u00a0Through sharing conversations back and forth, she realized that she had been living in my old house.\u00a0 \u00a0She knew my story and the background and invited me to come out anytime.<\/p>\n

I have to say, I was hesitant at first, but eventually, I got up the nerve and asked if we could make it happen.\u00a0 \u00a0So many people know my story.\u00a0 My mom, brother and sister died in a car accident in July of 1990.\u00a0 \u00a0That<\/em> was the last house we lived in together as a family.\u00a0 Full of memories.\u00a0 Last memories.<\/p>\n

The woman I connected to online had lost her son – also tragically, similar circumstances.\u00a0 We had a bond.\u00a0 A similar story that brought us together.<\/p>\n

I never expected to have the chance to go back.\u00a0 \u00a0I had driven by so many times over the years.\u00a0 \u00a0Noticing the changes.\u00a0 \u00a0Always holding onto the memories.\u00a0 \u00a0Never ever expecting I would have a chance to see it inside, but always wondering “what if I could?”<\/p>\n

So when I finally got up the nerve, I wasn’t sure how it would feel or how I would react.<\/p>\n

As soon as I pulled in the driveway, it was so emotional.\u00a0 I got out of the car and cried.\u00a0\u00a0She gave me a big hug and the memories were suddenly overwhelming, along with the incredible sadness.<\/p>\n

I always wondered what it would feel like to go back to that house.\u00a0 To go inside again.\u00a0 A lot had changed.\u00a0 Some walls were opened up.\u00a0 Door ways widened.\u00a0 Rooms were different.\u00a0 But that feeling of “my house” was still there.\u00a0 It’s almost like I could FEEL my family again.\u00a0 \u00a0It was odd to suddenly be transported back in time.\u00a0 To remember how we had it set up.\u00a0 Where the Christmas tree was.\u00a0 The stairs my dad built that were still there.\u00a0 No more phone on the wall, but the clothesline still hangs out back.\u00a0 I could picture my mom hanging out the clothes as I stood there.<\/p>\n

So strange to walk up the stairs and see my old bedroom. The one I shared with my sister.<\/p>\n

I remember my teenage self in that house. I remembered life in that house. I remember what it felt like to be that family of six.<\/p>\n

It was a huge step in a life long healing process. It was such a gift to be able to do that. To walk through the yard. Look at the trees that were there when we lived there.\u00a0 The ones we climbed, and the one I hit when learning how to drive. (smile)<\/p>\n

It’s like looking back on your life through a crystal ball, and only you know the future.<\/p>\n

That day was healing in so many ways and I am forever grateful that I had the chance to go back to the house that built me.\u00a0 It was an experience I will never EVER<\/em> forget. I even got a history lesson in who originally owned the house\u00a0 It was some sort of summer vacation home for a while.\u00a0 Something about cows living in the basement?<\/p>\n

You never know what you’ll find.\u00a0 I never imagined I would connect with someone on FB who would become such a big part of my life story.<\/p>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Do you have a similar story?\u00a0 Have you ever gone back to a childhood home?\u00a0 Would you, if given the chance?<\/p>\n

As always – feel free to reach out anytime<\/p>\n

cbuchanan@blackburnradio.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

“I thought if I could touch this place or feel it<\/em>
\nThis brokenness inside me might start healing.<\/em>
\nOut here it’s like I’m someone else,<\/em>
\nI thought that maybe I could find myself<\/em>
\nIf I could just come in I swear I’ll leave.<\/em>
\nWon’t take nothing but a memory<\/em>
\nFrom the house that built me.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\n