Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel called You Can't Go Home Again that was published posthumously in 1940, but I wonder if he was correct.
I recently heard that the childhood home I grew up in will soon be on the market. These photos are from 2012 when my father sold it to move into assisted living. My SiL texted me and wondered if I was interested in it for Ryan, and my immediate response was, "No! I know where all the problems are!"
But I've been thinking about it a little more seriously. I think if the current owners do get it officially listed, I might make an appointment to see it or maybe go to an open house, partly out of curiosity, and partly to see what they've done to it over the past nine years.
At the very least I hope they have changed the decor. My parents built the house in 1962 and 1963, but they didn't change very much at all in 49 years. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the bedroom that my sister and I shared with its multi-tonal blue shag carpeting. The real shame is that there are hardwood floors throughout most of the house, but it was all covered up with wall-to-wall carpeting.
They did convert the garage to this sort of computer room after I had moved out in 1979. Looking back at pictures I can see why I'm not a big fan of knick-knacks, tchotchkes, and general clutter. :-)
If I do go home again, I will take photos!
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Now that would be interesting! If I could look inside the house I grew up in, I would certainly do it. I think a lot of us have emotional ties to the space we occupied while still somewhat innocent and full of childhood dreams and possibilities.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I definitely think you should go look at it when it's listed.
ReplyDeleteOh, I would absolutely go and look at it! Those shag carpet days... oy. That was just not lovely ever. lol (we had orange shag in a family room that was tres gauche!)
ReplyDeleteSo cool and I agree - I would definitely take a look. And, remember, there is a benefit to knowing where all the problems are! When we moved into our house there was a greenish-yellow shag carpet in the room we use as a guest room. So ugly!!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful older home. I think you should go and see it. We bought a home built in 1955, which we are now using as income property because we weren't crazy about the neighborhood once we moved into it, but we had all the original hardwood floors refinished and they we just beautiful. What a silly decorating fad is was to cover beautiful floors with mostly ugly carpet. See you again soon.
ReplyDeleteI definitely hope you get to see it! My parents moved out of my childhood home just a couple of years ago, but because it's only about a mile from where we live, I see it often and wonder what it looks like now. If it's ever on the market again, you can bet I'll be there to see it!
ReplyDeleteWhen I can't sleep (too often, lately), I often "re-visit" the floor plans of the various houses and apartments I've lived in over the years. It's a nice way to occupy my mind as I try to fall back to sleep again -- and a great way to remember past houses. I would love to see some of them again in real life -- but all of them are far away from where I live now, so that just won't happen. I hope you have the opportunity to visit your childhood home again! (And . . . is it better to know where the problems are? Or to be surprised?) XO
ReplyDeleteThere are two houses from my past that I'd like to get inside. One is in Highland Park, IL, where we lived when I was in 1st grade; Ann was born when we lived there. The girls & I found it and drove by a few years ago... not much had changed on the outside (from photos & my limited memory). The other one is just a few miles from my house, where we lived when I was in 3rd-7th grade. Lots of memories there, and I'd love to see how it's changed... maybe someday! I hope you get to take a look inside yours!! Oh, and my sister's first house had carpeting over beautifully finished oak floors... she ripped that out first thing!
ReplyDeleteI would love to tour my childhood home in the city! Whenever I am in town and near the downtown I try to drive by.
ReplyDeleteOne hopes if there are changes they are for the better. When my parents bought a 1900's farm house in the 1960's it had been a rental for a while. They stripped the walls(paper about 9 layers deep) and sanded floors (upstairs) and put in carpets downstairs(floors weren't anything special) and completely redid the kitchen with homemade cabinets and a picture window to overlook the backyard. The man they bought it from had grown up in the house and was happy to see it refurbished. The person that bought the house after my parents' deaths turned it back into rental I believe. So I don't know if I want to see it or not. My grandparents' house on the other hand was made into a B&B and they did a very nice job of using the spaces. You never know.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a chance to look at the house and visualize the past. This must be a thing for us as we look back. My sisters have been asking for memories of the first house they remember, the one we lives in from the time I was 5 (though 9). We've had fun looking back and one sister went to see the house which is SO small (we thought it big!).
ReplyDeleteI imagine you have mixed feelings about going through your old home again. Maybe if the hardwood floors were covered with carpet most of them would be able to be reconditioned for use? I have heard stories of people peeling up old carpet to find beautiful wood floors.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're reconsidering ... the house looks like it would still be a lovely home (especially without all the "stuff" ;-)
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