Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Day 26 - Yellow House at 10000 Waverly Road

An Ode to 10000 Waverly Road...

In December of 1999,
It was time 
To move into the u-shaped yellow house.
Maplewood Place was the name it bore,
Established in 1917.

And so was tradition 
Of each family member
To measure their height on the door.

You may paint the walls or tear down the wallpaper,
Pull out the bushes and more.
Just please, no matter what you do,
Please don't paint that door.

A home you see, isn't built of wood
It's more about the people living in it.
Traditions and memories and stories rich in history
Come from that yellow house.

As we wave goodbye and start a new chapter
We will hold a place in our hearts, 
for the yellow house 
With the red barn behind it
that kept us safe from disaster.

Our last request, little yellow house 
we ask you do the same
For those who follow behind us.
We love them a lot and wish them the best
In their time at 10000 Waverly Road.

Amber's fessed up one night that her biggest fear of moving was leaving behind all those great memories we made in that yellow house.  My sweet child, I explained, nobody gets to take away the memories when we move, we pack them up and take them with us.  And the best part, we get to start over with a clean slate and a big big playground full of possibilities.   Quietly I decided I'd better jot down a few of those memories, my brain only has so much storage space before it starts dumping off excess information. 

Here are a few of my favorite Yellow House Memories that I haven't already included in my blog.

- Picnics on a blanket in the front yard which included every stuffed animal in the house
- Memorial Day Water Balloon fights
- The day Samantha set Willy free and nearly convinced her dad to keep a market lamb as a pet.
- Many a nights of Capture the Trophy 
- The Farm Progress parade every fall.  Ted could sit at the kitchen counter and identify the farmer passing by, without even looking out the window.  I wasn't that talented, but did develop an ear for Mies Farms Machinery over time. 
- The rocking chair in Samantha's nursery, in the middle of the night, for her first nine months of life.
- Amber's serenades from the bay window, and the fireplace
- The Tennessee Roadhouse - Head Chef Samantha Mies and Entertainer/Waitress Amber Mies
- The hunting stand turned cat perch in the white shed
- 5 baby skunks and their short-lived stay with us
- Ted chasing Bella's boyfriend off with a paintball gun 
- A redneck water slide
- The best tire swing ever.  If another storm ever passes thru, strap yourself to the swing set!
- Growing marigolds and zinnias in the windowsill 
- Foosball tournaments
- Stop the combine!  You're about to take out my fence!
- Wine and puzzles at the dining room table
- The upstairs guest room filled with harvest helpers

Raise your hand if you've ever used our house as a land marker to give directions.  Explaining our address was never really a challenge, "yellow house, red shed, 10000 Waverly Road"

From this point forward, our new directions will be as follows
- coming from the north, if you see the yellow house, you've gone too far
- coming from the south, turn at the road after the yellow house

No comments:

Post a Comment