To my childhood home,

Fourteen years of my life was spent inside your four walls. I walked out the door at 5 years old starting my first days of kindergarten and flashed forward years down the road, walking back through that door holding my high school diploma. You saw me grow from a little kid to a young adult in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

You held some of the best memories of mine. We shared Sunday dinners to prepare for the week to come. I look back on the times we'd hide behind walls and doors to jump out and scare mom and laugh. I'd look out your windows as mom cooked dinner and wait to see dad's car come down the street. I invited friends to the house to sleepover. Some friends you saw stuck around awhile and you became their second home.

Holidays were always the best times for my family. We decorated you with lights, a tree, and have music playing throughout the house. The kitchen spread the smell of cookies throughout the house. On Christmas morning I'd tiptoe to the balcony and check for presents, then run down the hall to jump on my parents and tell them Santa came down your chimney to bring us gifts. As a little kid, I felt your walls fill with magic.

We welcomed a puppy into our home. He scratched up your floors as he ran around the rooms. He immediately became a ball of energy and love and an irreplaceable part of our family. When the time came to say goodbye to him, you were there through our grief. We know you felt empty without him and missed him as much as we did.

With the good came the bad. This home, like any other, experienced some of the saddest times of life as well. However, you gave us a space to find comfort on bad days. On days we felt sick, there was nowhere else we'd rather be. Some days were filled with arguments and frustration. I'd stomp up to my room and slam the door, but we all knew eventually we'd walk back down the steps and work things out. This home was not perfect, but it was an incredible home to grow up in.

Now you hold a new family creating new memories. I'm sure they've covered up our painted walls with colors they chose together and have hung pictures where my family portraits used to be. I miss calling you my home but feel happy someone else can grow up with you and experience the same beautiful life I had living in that house.