monday's mulling: go do them {november 6, 2023}

Due to my dad's job, my family moved eight times in my pre-college life. I've lived in Germany, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio (4 moves), and Kentucky. I think about these places and the houses where my siblings and I grew up. When my mom died and my sibs and I cleaned out her house, I found a letter addressed to my parents when they lived in Germany. That letter got the wheels turning and made me think, "How cool would it be to find that house?" In 2019, my brother, sister-in-law, T and I planned a trip to Europe and we each chose a place we wanted to visit. My choice was Alsace with a day trip to Neubrucke, Germany. We found the house, the Army hospital where I was born (now an environmental studies college), and strolled around the town. That gave me the itch to find the other houses where we lived.

On a recent trip to Louisville, KY, I asked T if we could go to Owensboro to find my house where my family lived during my 2nd to 5th grade years. We drove through Cincinnati and Louisville, across the Ohio River into Indiana, changing time zones somewhere, followed the scenic river route, and once again crossed the Ohio into Owensboro. Kentucky is one of thirteen states that has two time zones and Owensboro is in the CST.

Anyway, we found the house and it's changed. It used to be a red brick home, no bay window in the front, that front tree was there but now it has 50+ years of growth. The sweet gum tree on the side of the house is no longer there. BTW, running barefoot through the yard, stepping on those prickly sweet gum balls was a painful experience. An addition has been added to the back of the house where the carport used to be. T and I took a walk through the neighborhood and I showed him where my best friend lived and the big house where mean Old Lady Rodgers lived. Houses have been built on the open field across from our house where the neighborhood kids played endless games of kickball and where we cut across to walk to school.

This walk down memory lane was fun. I'm so glad I found my old Kentucky home.