September 19-Somethin’ Challenge: Day 21

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21. Tell me about the first home you remember living in with your parents.

Although there were at least 3 houses before it, the first house that I remember living in with my parents was at 508 Wellington Street.  I guess you could say it was at this house that I first 'woke up' to things going on around me.  It was the house we were living in when I started first grade in 1971 and the house in which I lived the longest with my parents.  That house no longer exists. It burned down. I don't know that any of the homes I lived in with my parents are still standing. The last one that I lived in got blown away by a tornado…with my daddy in it.

Suz and little sister Carolee

Here is a walk-thru of 508 Wellington Street: After walking up the front steps, you are on the porch, which was a decent size from a kid's perspective. The front door was centered. Upon entering the house, you were in a little foyer of sorts.  To the right was the living room. To the left were the kids' bedrooms, which was really one big room that Daddy partitioned to make into two rooms.  We'll head that way. Upon entering the room, you are in the boys' room. It was painted dark blue.  Turn right and walk through the doorway that Daddy made and you're in the girls' room. It was a soft pink. Keep heading straight and you're in the only hallway in the house. It was fairly short. About midways down the hallway, on the left, was the door to Mama and Daddy's room. Straight ahead was the bathroom on the back wall of the house. Take a right at the bathroom and you're in the kitchen.  To the left was the back door and porch.  If you turn right and go through the next doorway, you would be back at the living room. Just in from the kitchen, on the right (center wall of the house) was a closet. This is where I used to climb trying to find the Christmas presents. I remember quite vividly doing this after I was told "the secret".  I wanted to see if it was true.   Be careful of the heater along that wall! If you continue through the living room, on the right wall is the doorway back to the foyer. 

If you turn around and go back into the kitchen and through the back door and porch, you'll be in the backyard where we had many fun hours of baseball.  One day didn't turn out so fun for one of the neighborhood boys. We were tussling over the bat.  I had it and didn't want to let go of it.  He wanted it and was trying to pry it out of my hands.  At some point,  I decided to stop fighting him and let go of the bat.  I didn't know what was going to happen next.   I hadn't had physical science or physics yet.  I was just a little kid.  He hadn't stopped pulling on the bat, so when I let go of it,  it banged his head really good. It was like the shot heard 'round the world.  He went down to the ground holding his head.  I went running into the house and locked myself in the bathroom because I figured I was going to get my tail torn up. I climbed onto the toilet then the bathtub to watch what was going on in the backyard. I have absolutely no recollection of what happened next.

This house was great for kids that loved to run around in circles, which we did on a regular basis.  Sometimes someone would get misdirected and two kids would be running in opposite directions through the rooms of the house. This happened to one of my brothers and one of our boy cousins once. They conked their noggins pretty good that day!

This house had wooden floors and no air conditioning. We had fans in the windows and oscillating fans, too.   We loved the wahhh wahhh game, singing into the fans.  Do NOT stick your fingers in these fans, however.  They are not the plastic ones like we have today. No siree. These had metal blades and could chop off a finger.  I know.  My mama told me so.  I'm surprised that I still have 10 fingers because I always had to test her theories. :)

There were lots of memories made, both good and bad, in that house. I kind of miss it.

What about you? What do you remember about your childhood home?




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