The Old House

From the outside it wasn't fancy. Just an old wood framed house. It was a sanctuary from the elements. It was a place I felt safe as a child.  It was more than mere wood, sheet-rock, wiring, nails and shingles. It was our palace. That house was ever changing to supply the needs of the people living in it.  My dad would add on, remodel, whatever it took to make the house comfortable for his wife and kids.  There were eight of us growing up in that house, not once did I feel crowded. Maybe I just never thought about the inconveniences of having that many people in one house. Maybe it was because it's all I ever knew.  We never had central heat and air in that old house. We only had an old swamp cooler in the living room. There were box fans in the windows at night.  There were a lot of nights you were sweating because it was so hot. We made due with what we had.  It didn't matter if you complained because that's the way it was. It wasn't going to change. So you accepted it and that was that. There were the gas heaters for the winter months. Many mornings I remember standing in front of that heater trying to get warm as I got out of bed.  You would stand in front of the heater until the back of your legs itched from the heat. The gas stove in the kitchen all of the burners on for heat in the winter.  Saturday mornings shivering in the living room as we watched cartoons.  But we survived the old house. I think it gave us some character growing up.
         We at least I didn't feel like we were poor growing up. We never went without in that old house.  We had our rooms full of toys and stereos. I remember as we got older I believe there was a TV in every bedroom of the house. There were work days to maintain the house. There were additions and subtractions to the house to mold it into whatever it needed to be. It at times felt like it took on a personality itself.  The creaks from the floorboards, the smell of a pot of beans on the stove, or the smell of the fireplace. They were all familiar in that old house.  I can still remember the smell from the  overwhelming amount of cologne coming out of my older brothers room. I am pretty sure he filled their bathtub up with judging from the smell.  But it gave his room its personality.  then there were the posters on the wall.  Everyone had their own sense of decorating style.  I think that's what made it special. Eight individuals coming together to make it a home. My mom was very good at making it a home. She had her tastes throughout that old house. She had the knick knacks. I know there are drawers full of them still in that old house. For years that old house stood out, as it was the only florescent green house in the neighborhood.  Everyone knew where we lived.  I see the old house today just a shell of what it once was. some rooms unused dust and cobwebs. I still feel safe there it will always be home as long as it stands. My dad still resides there and I find comfort there.  I have no regrets about that old house. It taught me how to build. It taught me how to love, to share and made me feel safe.  God Bless that ol' house
Kenney Pope