So I had a wonderful experience yesterday.
I grew up in a small town on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts called Mattapoisett. My parents sold my childhood home after me and my brother were out, in 1994. They moved to Florida while they were still in their 40's. Besides 1994, I have literally drove by the house once, about 10 years ago to show my wife. For some reason, it didn't make much of an impact.
I've been meaning to show my kids the town I grew up in for a couple of years now. On a clear day, you could see the ocean from the house, and I wanted to show them the beach I hung out on on countless afternoons, either with my Walkman or my boombox.
Anyway, yesterday, I decided to take them down there. The house is on a dirt road out in the boonies. As we approached the house, I could see a guy in the driveway. My plan was to park a few houses away, and walk past my old house. But we parked pretty close, and as I walked by the driveway, the guy greeted me. I explained that I grew up in the house, and I was showing my boys the area I grew up.
He said he had been there for like 25 years, and as it turns out, he bought the house from my parents. He even remembered their names. I told him all about the old neighborhood, and he showed me the work he had done in the back yard. The front and back yards looked amazing. He then asked if we wanted to go in and look around. Holy Shit! Are kidding me?? Wow!
I lived in this house from the time I was 3 to 24. I had a mad rush of memories. It was really crazy. He asked if I wanted to see the upstairs bedrooms. I think he wanted to show me some of the things he had done.
So I stood in my childhood bedrooms (There were two kids rooms and my brother and I switched a couple of times). It was simply one of the most amazing experiences of my life. To think of everything I experienced there, as we all did growing up. But for a half hour or so, I experienced a "time machine" and I am so grateful to the guy.
A short walk from the house was the beach. I spent so many days down there, and I was so proud to show my kids. It was an amazing place to grow up and I'm glad I got to share it with them. It was low tide, and it all looked like I was just there. We walked out on to the jetty, and I recognized each rock, having walked them hundreds of times. It was really strange. We picked countless shells, and even found a horseshoe crab skeleton. When I was a kid, you couldn't go down there and not find one.
It was really a day I'll never forget.