Saturday, May 17, 2014

1808 8th St. NE

It's been a tough week emptying and dismantling my childhood home, made sadder by knowing that the company that bought the land will turn it into a parking lot. The bright spot has been Habitat for Humanity which will reuse so much of the house - they took a lot of furniture and all the appliances, the doors and windows, light fixtures and fans, cupboards, plumbing etc. It's like organ donation for houses and I am happy to know another family might grow up surrounded by what was once around us.  I have clear memories of moving from Sullivan Street in 1952, to this house at 1808 8th St. when Interstate 90 was routed through our yard.   I remember being awed by having my own room and by the plush carpeting - a deep burgundy color - a definite upgrade from our previous home. It was such a small house by today's standards but we were happy there and I grew up believing I had more than enough.  I left that house for college in 1964, and later in 1968 for marriage and my own home.  Mom and dad lived there until 2011 when they moved to Sacred Heart Care Center where she died in September, 2011.  Dad moved back to "his" house that year and lived there off and on until November, 2013 when he moved permanently to the Cedars in Austin.  You can make a lot of memories in 61 years.

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