the flood and the old house

On Saturday, Sam and I drove downtown, drove across the bridge and back, and parked at the Memphis Visitors Center at the end of Riverside and walked toward Tom Lee Park.

It's so strange to see all this water and to think about how it's affecting people's lives right now. But, it's also good to see how unfortunate events like this bring communities together, too!

On Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day (and did not take a single picture, but that's okay). We had lunch with Mom, Dad, and Momo, my 92-year-old cutie pie grandmother. After, we drove through Memphis and took a little driving tour of my mom's childhood home, my Grandma's old house, and my first childhood house.

I've been wanting to go by and see the old house for a long time. We haven't because the neighborhood is no longer safe at all. I guess there's safety in numbers or at least comfort in familiarity of an area, so we all went. It's so interesting how childhood perceptions change when you're an adult. I always thought of our house as a great size with lots of room and a huge backyard. Then, looking at it Sunday, I know that the backyard is still huge, but that two-bedroom, one-bath house built in 1940 with approximately 780 sq ft. certainly didn't look the same to me now as it did when I was little. My dad's meticulously groomed front hedges were so overgrown and almost as tall as the house itself, and the little pine tree my sister planted is probably fifty feet tall now. The driveway that I used to think was so long now looked so short. The front porch where I kept a turtle (just for a day, in an empty one-gallon ice cream bucket) that I found in the front yard seemed so much smaller than I remember. My mom's pretty irises were no longer there, as the once-full flower bed is empty. The house has a no-trespassing sign now, and we used to enjoy company when we lived there. The church next door is still there, but there was no crowded parking lot this time, even though it was still peak hours for their Sunday services. Part of me wishes I had a taken a picture the other day, but the other part is glad I didn't. I think I prefer to remember it the way I do from a long time ago. All this makes me think of how my kindergarten kids' perceptions will change as they get older.... what will they think of their school building? What will they remember from their past? Hopefully, it'll all be good things like I do!

After our little outing with my family, Sam and I made our way to visit with his mom, his three brothers and one sister, the two siblings in law, and the nephews and niece. Bless her heart, his mama always makes so much food when her kids come to visit!

So that was our Mother's Day weekend! It was a good one!