Home is Where the Heart Is

Well, the day finally came... my childhood home is officially For Sale.  When my Mom forwarded the listing to me with the subject "This will make you sad,"  I don't think she expected I'd spend much of the rest of the day in tears... but that's just what I did.  The news wasn't shocking, they've been prepping the house for months, but it really hit home (pardon the pun) as I clicked through the photos of the rooms I grew up in, knowing it may be the last time I got to "walk" through the house. I know, many people would say, "It's just a house."  But, oh, how wrong they would be...


Many happy memories are forever set in the scene of that "house" - We have celebrated over one hundred birthdays, over thirty Thanksgivings and Christmas mornings, hosted numerous slumber parties, spent endless summer afternoons in the pool and countless family dinners at the kitchen table.  In more recent years, the house has seen four graduation parties, one bridal shower, one baby shower, and Andrew's first birthday. 

Many special images are forever imprinted on my brain from that "house" - Girl Scout cookies piled high in the living room, Indian Princesses running through the basement, ballet recitals performed in the den, softball practices in the front yard and prom pictures in the gardens.

Many favorite sensory experiences will forever trigger memories of that "house" - The hum of the attic fan on hot summer nights, car lights passing across my parent's bedroom wall at night, the click of my Mom's heels on the stone front hall in the morning, the heavenly smell of Sunday pot roast in the oven, and the excitement of watching lightning fill the sky from the front porch during a thunderstorm.

So, that "house" was so much more than a house... it is a home filled with wonderful, wonderful memories.  My parents gave Amanda and I the most amazing gift - a home that we never wanted to say goodbye to.  We were so fortunate to have had the kind of home where our roots could be firmly set, thrive and allow us to grow.  Now, it is time to plant seeds of our own and continue to expand the branches of our family tree.  And, as hard as giving up our home will be, I know that our family is more than just the home we lived in... and I am certain we will continue to make wonderful memories together - in new settings - for years to come.

 

 

 

PS - I'll update the pictures as I get better ones... this all happened very fast, and I only had access to my Mom's pictures from the listing and a couple Amanda sent me from her phone! 

Beach Trip to Santa Cruz and Capitola

One Thursday evening in late August, inspired by a co-worker's story about how he eloped to Vegas,  I announced to Mike that I wanted to hit the beach that weekend.  In usual Mike style, he said, "Great!  Where do you want to go and when are we leaving?"  In a not so typical Melissa style, I decisively said, "Santa Cruz.  Let's leave Saturday, get a hotel and come home Sunday whenever."  I booked our hotel within an hour of that discussion, packed our bags after work the next day, and we were off on Saturday after a quick breakfast.  We headed to Santa Cruz, not knowing at all what to expect other than that there was a boardwalk and a beach.  We were there within 2 hours - perfect amount of time for a nice nap for Andrew - and on the beach shortly thereafter.  Don't forget, this is still Northern California... so when I say we were on the beach, we weren't exactly sun-bathing.  But, there's something about bundling up in the cool, damp ocean breeze with warm fire pits every 50 feet or so (another perk of California beaches). 

After exploring the beach, we decided to head over to the Boardwalk for lunch.  The Boardwalk at Santa Cruz is like Ocean City,  NJ on steroids.  (Neither Mike nor I have been to Wildwood recently enough to compare it, but think something similar with more rides and more food.)

We walked the boardwalk and reminisced about our younger days when we would go on crazy rides, before heading towards the pier to look for lunch. After an "eh" lunch, we followed our ears to the sounds of sea lions barking on the pier.  This was definitely the closest I've ever been to so many wild animals... way closer than you can get at Fisherman's Wharf in San Fran.

After watching the sea lions for awhile and before heading to our hotel, we decided to stop and soak up some of the warm rays that finally broke the clouds.

 

We drove about 10 minutes to the nearby village of Capitola, to check in at the Best Western's Capitola by the Sea.  After unpacking the car and freshening up, we drove the mile and a half into downtown Capitola and immediately fell in love with the quaint surf town.  I immediately pictured us living here, heading to the beach on Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee and a book, watching Andrew surf and paddle board with his younger brother or sister, while Mike walks our dog down the beach... Okay, so obviously my imagination advanced us quite a few years, but some places just do that to you... and Capitola was definitely one of them for me. 

After dinner in the village, we headed back to the hotel to use the pool.  The cool Pacific air was a little much for Andrew in the pool, and although he "warmed up" to the hot tub, he wasn't a big fan of that either.  So, Mommy's much anticipated swim and soak were short lived, but still nice.  Andrew woke up around 12:30 am, not very happy to find himself in his pack'n'play... so, we brought him into bed with us, and after he was satisfied that he woke up the whole hotel, he fell back asleep until 6:00 am.  So, we were up early for the continental breakfast... where Andrew ate more than the Continental Army.  His breakfast included: a quarter of a Belgian waffle, a yogurt, a banana, a small bagel, Cheerios, and of course his bottle of whole milk. Luckily, this seems to have been attributed to a growth spurt, because his appetite has decreased considerably since then (which the doctor warned us would probably happen after we voiced our concern of how much he was eating).  We then headed to the beach in Capitola... a small, warm, white sand beach that was still fairly empty. 

I wanted to stay for the day, but just as the sun broke Mike said he wanted to move on - heading up the coast along Route 101.  I was sure we were going to regret that decision and be stuck in the car during the sunniest part of the day, but I could not have been more wrong.  Within 30 minutes, Mike pulled over for fresh strawberries from a road-side stand - his 2nd best decision of the day (the first being to drive up the coast).  These were the most amazing strawberries I can ever remember eating.  Within 20 minutes of that stop, we decided to pull off at Scott Creek State Beach to have a picnic.  We headed away from the couple people exploring the beach, and towards cliffs that blocked some of the wind.  The sun was out, the picnic was delicious, and the ocean was gorgeous.  It was a perfect setting.  And then, a sea lion emerged from the ocean about 50 yards away... it checked out the beach, turned around and got back into the surf.  Magical. 

 

Post picnic, we packed up the car and headed a little further up the coast before turning inland to head home.