Princess Amelia here. Long time, no see! I bet you thought you had heard the last of me, huh?
This morning, I was listening to a song that Kenny Chesney sings. I don't have a clue what the name of it is, and to be honest, don't rightly care. All I can tell you about this song is that he talks about going down the road and tells himself to turn around before he can't see the city lights of his hometown anymore.
That got me to thinking about my hometown; and all that I love about it. And all that I don't love about it. You see, I just received the news a couple of days ago that the dungeon part of our castle has been shut down. The walls are coming apart and there is mold throughout. And now visions of my childhood home.....the place where I felt the safest in the world.....are of crumbling walls and falling tears. I don't know that there's any way around it.
Ahhh melencholy..........
For those of you wondering, the building is still operational. At this point. But just the "home" part of it. My sister works in that building and has been sick a lot. I think we know why now. I joke that maybe she should wear a mask to work but in the back of my head, I am quite serious. Although, who knows how long that mold has been in there. Just get my family and my friends out of there and in a safe working place.
On my drive to work today, I got to thinking about some of the times we had in that house. I don't know exactly which stories I have told and which I haven't so if I repeat something from another blog.....well, it's because I love that memory.
Lonnie with a bottle of bleach and his trusty tennis racquet, in the late hours of the night, running from room-to-room, while mom and us kids are perched outside each window, screaming directions at him and telling him exactly where the bat went! Of course we thought it was funny. Poor Lonnie was trapped in there with a BAT!! I think he had just as much fun as we did though. Sometimes I think dad wished he had been home when the bats came out so he could chase them down too. But they rarely came out when dad was home. I think those bats were a little smarter than we knew. ;-)
I remember one Christmas Eve...I was probably three years old. I had peed the bed and didn't want to tell anyone. So I just got out of bed and woke everyone up and ran downstairs to open presents. I had gotten this awesome little kitchen set. Of course back then, they weren't the nice plastic ones but for (probably) 1972, they were the neatest metal furniture I had ever seen. And they were ALL mine!!! A stove, that had a real door that opened to store my pots and pans in. A sink that didn't actually hold water (but hey, I practiced washing dishes for a long time). A refrigerator that opened up to store my food in. I was in heaven. I didn't even care about opening any other presents at the time because I just wanted to play with THESE. I wish I had an online copy of the picture of me playing with this. Sitting on my knees on the floor.....playing kitchen.....in my nightgown.....that had a big wet spot stuck to my butt!!!
Three nephews and two nieces were born while we lived in the castle.
Jeremy...who I thought would NEVER go away (because he was there everyday while his mom & dad worked and went to school) and then when he did, I wanted to move in with them!
Josh...who we also saw everyday. I always tried loving on him and he would never have it. To this day, I couldn't get a real hug out of Josh if I paid him. Well.....maybe if I paid him!
Then came Jacob. The kid with the biggest smile; the kindest eyes. And I was always so amazed how someone so cute could look so much like his dad! Of course, when you're little, you don't think of your brothers and sisters as "cute" or "handsome" or "beautiful." You think of them as "yuck, that's my brother/sister." For more reasons that I want to get into in this blog...and because it's not my story to tell...Jake was at our house most of his first few years as well.
It was like something exploded and gave me little brothers. No, I did NOT like that. Thanks for asking. But I did love those little boys. There was and still is, a real fondness in my heart for them. They were all a year apart in age and they played together all the time. I always just assumed they would be the best of friends for the rest of their lives. They all still love each other and that's what matters in the end. Things just change, life happens and we do what we have to do. I love looking at the pictures of those three together though, to see their likenesses to each other; to their parents...but also to see their differences. The things that make them stand out on their own.
Now...two little girls came the following two years and I was EC-STA-TIC!!! Finally someone to put little pink dresses on, do their hair, and play dolls with. Yes, I was 13-14 years old by the time I got those girls but I was going to do all the things, with them, that I loved doing when I was little! I was mentally prepared to be a good friend/aunt to my little girls!!
Lindsay didn't seem to like me at first. But then she didn't seem to like anyone. She cried a lot and I just adored from afar...unless forced to help...because I didn't want to make her cry anymore than she already did. Come to find out, she was sick. And I don't remember what the exact problem was, but she had to have surgery and I thought that was the scariest thing in the world. Babies weren't supposed to be sick like that! She couldn't keep her food down, and she threw up a lot. Maybe that's the real reason I adored from afar. I didn't want to get puked on. All I know is, I couldn't wait for her to get better so we could get on to the dolls!
Ashley was born and she was the picture of pink. I don't know that there was ever a day that she didn't have something pink on. While Lindsay was out giving the boys a run for their money on their hot wheels or climbing trees, Ashley was the one playing Barbies (and she had a million of them) and dolls and always trying a new hairdo. Those girls...they grew up to be the best friends. They told each other everything. They did everything together. They truly had an amazing relationship.
Yes...growing up in the castle is the best thing about my life, by far. It always seemed so huge when I was little and we would stuff as many people in it as possible, it seemed. I loved it when we would have family dinners and would all gather around the big dining room table. All of us cousins would play out in the courtyard; or in the dungeon if it wasn't being used!
Don't know if I have mentioned this but I learned to rollerskate in that jail. Trying to get away from the scary men in the inner-dungeon. I'm sure they hated me in there skating, as much as I hated them in my playground. Sometimes we would even get up on top of the inner dungeon and pound on the roof. Just to make them mad. Ahhhh the good ole days.
As I come to a close today, I am saddened about the future of my castle; of my childhood home. I know that I will always have my memories and that's ok. I just can't imagine not being able to see it or visit it someday. *sigh*
*Playing cars with Kenny, in the dirt, under the big tree next to the house -_-
He always promised me that he would play dolls with me after, but he never did.
*Raking the leaves and jumping in them -_-
Being the baby of the family, I played a lot more than I raked!
*Counting 16 steps EVERYTIME I went to bed -_-
And I still count everytime I go there and have to use the upstairs bathroom.
*The first time we ever got a color tv... a microwave... a vcr -_-
I was pretty sure we were rich...each time.
*Sledding down the hill behind the house & into the street -_-
We would aim for those iron bars on the east side of our block (where they used to tie horses up back in the day) to see if we could slide under and into the street
*Being surrounded by the horses and "cowboys" on Good Friday -_-
I have always been afraid of horses and never a fan of cowboys BUT I loved getting to ride on the horses with the reserves. Kenny Black ALWAYS took me on his horse.
*The green shag carpet -_-
It finally got thrown out and replaced with brown shag!
*Old, used, hand-me-down couch we used to have -_-
It was the UGLIEST green thing (or was it brown.....) I had ever seen but it was comfortable!
*The Frosty Trete just a short block away -_-
Got my butt spanked more than once for leaving the yard (with my good friend Stacey) and getting ice cream.
*Having a home-away-from-home at the courthouse -_-
Merlin Rucker, janitor, bought me a bottle of pop (back when the bottles were glass & 16 oz) everyday (and here I tell people I didn't get pop!) and Carol Noer would put tape across my bangs and trimmed them for me in the Auditor's Office.
So many more memories and I'm sure, as time passes and we learn the fate of the building, there will be more to write about. Thanks for stopping in today. <3
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