I am sitting on the couch in my Uncle Robert's house, using the computer that kept my Aunt Jan occupied for hours as she sat in the seat next to where I currently reside. We came up here to write thank-you-notes for my Uncle Robert. My mother, my grandmother, and two of my aunts have taken over the kitchen table, so here I am in the living room.
Trips to Pitts are always entertaining, to say the least. Being on of the youngest in the family, I have no idea who half of the people talked about are. Most of the people referenced are at least 60 years old, and no doubt would remember who I am, but I can't say the same for me. Personally, I think it takes enough memory space to remember all of the names of my family members and what aunt or uncle they belong to.
My mother, on the other hand, has a spectacular knack for remembering these people we haven't seen in twenty years and live an hour away from us. The family across the street from my uncle's house? She remembers the family and can probably tell at least one story about the children. Same for all of the other people mentioned in conversation. I have absolutely no idea who any of the people are or where in the world or the past would I have met them.
What I DO remember has nothing to do with other people. I can see a younger version of myself outside, climbing the tree that my Uncle Robert cut down years ago because it was rotting on the branches I climbed. I see myself walking along the railroads tracks that are about 100 yards away from the front door- the only railroads tracks in the world that i'm not deathly scared of (a story for another time...). I see my sister and I swinging on the front porch swing, watching people walk by the house on their way to church, the one gas station in town, or a friend's house- because in Pitts, you can walk anywhere.
Nothing ever stays the same. Just looking around this house shows me that. Looking at the place where my tree used to be, the run-down railroad tracks, the worn porch swing, shows me that. I know twenty years from now, this house and its surroundings will have changed again. However, I'm sure I'll still be sitting in the living room, listening to my family discuss people I can't remember ever meeting!
Trips to Pitts are always entertaining, to say the least. Being on of the youngest in the family, I have no idea who half of the people talked about are. Most of the people referenced are at least 60 years old, and no doubt would remember who I am, but I can't say the same for me. Personally, I think it takes enough memory space to remember all of the names of my family members and what aunt or uncle they belong to.
My mother, on the other hand, has a spectacular knack for remembering these people we haven't seen in twenty years and live an hour away from us. The family across the street from my uncle's house? She remembers the family and can probably tell at least one story about the children. Same for all of the other people mentioned in conversation. I have absolutely no idea who any of the people are or where in the world or the past would I have met them.
What I DO remember has nothing to do with other people. I can see a younger version of myself outside, climbing the tree that my Uncle Robert cut down years ago because it was rotting on the branches I climbed. I see myself walking along the railroads tracks that are about 100 yards away from the front door- the only railroads tracks in the world that i'm not deathly scared of (a story for another time...). I see my sister and I swinging on the front porch swing, watching people walk by the house on their way to church, the one gas station in town, or a friend's house- because in Pitts, you can walk anywhere.
Nothing ever stays the same. Just looking around this house shows me that. Looking at the place where my tree used to be, the run-down railroad tracks, the worn porch swing, shows me that. I know twenty years from now, this house and its surroundings will have changed again. However, I'm sure I'll still be sitting in the living room, listening to my family discuss people I can't remember ever meeting!
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