Dear Bushwacker Lane when mom called to say you had been sold, my heart broke. I put on my headphones and listened to Miranda Lambert’s “House That Built Me” on repeat and cried for hours. While moving is what we’ve wanted and been waiting for, it wasn’t something I expected to happen right now. We moved in when I was three and so many things have happened in the last 17 years that I could write about for hours and hours, but for now I just wanted to say thank you.
Thank you for being there for everything. You’ve been there for every major occasion from birthday parties to homecomings/proms to graduations to the lazy Sundays where dad tried to get us to go outside and wash cars with him, but we protested and stayed on your couches all day.
You’ve seen it all, the good and the bad. You were there for college acceptance letters, grandpa’s passing, endless sleepovers, and to recently when my best friends and I held each other and mourned the loss of our best friend. You’ve been the silent observer to every laugh, argument, and tear that our family and friends have shared over the years. Each room holds a memory within its wall that will stay with us forever. While the future, is exciting, it’s hard to grasp that you won’t be there for me to lay on the great room floor while the sun shines through and bakes me in the early morning, for us to have barbeques and sit on the back deck and take in the beauty of the view.
You won’t be there for any more cookie parties that mom makes us dance around the table to “Dominic the Donkey” or Fourth of July parties where dad decides to start the boats and cars up at 1 in the morning.
How will our Christmas stockings look on the new fireplace? Whose floors am I going to run down to see how far I can slide in my socks, but more likely fall on my face? How will I get through the nights without all your creaks and groans that make me think someone is breaking in, even though I know it’s just you adjusting. Oh, how I’ll miss you and the way people tease when they find out there is a street called Bushwacker.
While we’ve definitely left our marks on you, much to dad’s disapproval, you’ve left even bigger marks on us. You were our home, our safe place, and our favorite spot after a long day for the last 17 years. Memories will be made in a new home in a new town, but our memories with you will always hold a special place in our hearts. Thank you, Bushwacker Lane, for the last 17 years.
Sincerely,
The one who always tried to climb your fireplace