Going…
We’re going. On vacation that is. Kelly and I are leaving on Sunday morning and heading to a cottage up north. I love it there. The air, the trees, the wildlife, the stars, and the quiet. I am so looking forward to the peace and quiet. Each of us has a good book to read, and for me it’s one that I started last Christmas. There just never seems to be any uninterrupted time to read any more. But there will be, finally, this week.
On a less happy note, I found out this week that the home I grew up in is being torn down soon. I drive past it almost every day on my way to work and I noticed that it, and one or two houses on either side were suddenly vacant. Then a developer’s sign went up on the corner lot, which is commercial. I made a few calls and it seems that Shoppers Drug Mart (a drug store chain if you aren’t from Ontario) has purchased all the properties and will be tearing down the houses to build a parking lot for their new store.
The demolition is set to begin soon, so tonight I went for a stroll with my camera and took some pictures. It’s vacant and abandoned, so I permitted myself to go up on the porch, peek through windows, wander around the back yard, and even enter the garage as the side door was wide open. It was hard to take. The recent owners had not kept it up at all. We had lived there for almost 20 years, and everywhere I looked memories came flooding back. We had the garage built. My dad finished the inside himself. The workbench that he built is still there, and I remember sketching out the plans with him on a scrap of paper and going to buy the wood. The fence he built in the back is already half torn down. The new windows we had put in look old. The central air conditioner that we had installed and brought us such relief sits lopsided and rusted. The doorbell I picked out and helped wire has fallen off.
But the tree, the beautiful chestnut tree my dad and I brought home from the nursery and planted in the front yard, now 15 years old, stands strong.. Within a week or two, it will be gone. And that’s what is hurting the most.
There are so many changes happening in my life right now. I need things to slow down a bit. This coming week at the cottage with Kelly is just what I need.
AbitibiSouth 
Hi Sylvain,
Do you have room for the chesnut tree on your current property? If yes, why don’t you look into having it moved? I’m pretty sure that Shopper’s would give you permission to take the tree and a local garden centre/tree farm should have the digger to get it out of the ground. Just a thought…
Cheers,
Kate
Sorry about the house. Old memories die hard. I hate driving by my old house in a town a half hour from where i live now. It’s too worn out, unkempt, and it looks oh so much smaller than i remember from the eighteen years I lived in it.
But thanks for the memories, the apricot and apple trees in the back yard, the almond trees in front, my parents beautiful rose garden on the side of the house…and miniature roses in front, and camillas, and lilac bush…and boxwood hedge…it was a beauty, in it’s little middle class neighborhood; a block from Jr high and high schools…across the street from best friend(s) (two of whom are deceased now)…one I still see!!! (Patty!!!)
Hey, have a wonderful time on vacation with Kelly. I bet you do way more than read!!!! Hope so anyway.
I still drive by our old house in Kitchener, too. And if it ever went up for sale, I’d probably buy it. I LOVED that house.
Our old house out west will be 100 years old next year, and is uninhabitable. I went there last month on our vacation, and had a little cry-fest standing in front of it, all tilty and ready to fall. It’s hard sometimes to remember that we still get to keep all the memories, even if the building no longer stands.