Day 153

Day 153: Have you ever returned to a place from your childhood and felt shocked at how small it is? When I was little, I thought my grandma’s house in Shelley was absolutely gargantuan. And I thought her basement was cavernous. CAVERNOUS! it is weird to drive by now and realize it’s a regular-sized old home.

Another example would be Peggy’s Gift Shop on 17th Street in Idaho Falls. Does anyone remember going to Peggy’s? My mom always said “You can get anything you need at Peggy’s....if she can find it.” And somehow, she always could. Peggy’s was in a huge detached building behind her home. Except that I drove past there yesterday, and if I’ve got the right house, it’s a regular-sized detached garage. I could SWEAR it was big. Really big.

How does that happen? Our perspective changes as our bodies grow? Or is it that our brains expand our memories into something larger than life?

However it happens, I figured it’s going to happen for my kids, too. We spent the weekend finishing the emptying of my husband’s parents’ home so it can be sold. The house is empty. Totally. And after today, the out-buildings will be empty, too. So, I snuck in the house and took pictures. Because, someday, my kids will need some perspective to go along with their larger-than-life memories of the Shaklee room and the red shag carpet and the rows of jam in their grandparents’ basement, especially when they embellish the story of the epic hobo spider attack. Those spiders get bigger with every retelling. #MomsCompanyTowels #ChildhoodPerspective #ISwearThatWasBigger