Week 5: The Biggest House on the Block

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The Biggest House on the Block

Turning off the paved road, onto the dirt path that has always served as the property line between my grandparent's land and their neighbors', from the smooth, familiar sigh of the black asphalt to a relic of a simpler time. To the irregular rhythm yet constant crunch and hum as the wheels slowly crawl forward along the gravel road leading to my grandparent's house. 

To think back to my great-grandparents, driving this same road with the horse and wagon, and then all my family and then down to me, now, driving it in an old jeep wrangler with too many bumperstickers on the back (relics from high school, a more confused time), is an intergenerational deja vu.

My grandparent's house is big, 5 bed rooms, 3 bathrooms, and various sitting rooms and offices. But unlike the McMansions of the extra-burbs racing against the Joneses this house comes from a humble beginning. The original footprint was barely a quarter of the current, built in the late 1920s without electricity. Since then it has grown with my family. As more kids came along more space was added, screen porches were added on or converted into permanent rooms. When the accounting practice began it took over the entire basement. The room I am writing in was formerly my Aunt's bedroom and before that it was my father's and uncle's room and the desk my computer is sitting on is my parent's desk from college. 

This house is a farm house. Built-out as needed it is filled with nooks, crannies and redundant stairs, it has character. It's character is that of it's occupants, my family. This is where family has been born, has died, has laughed, and cried, grew up and grew old, and for me, where I have begun to appreciate it all. 

The crunch of the gravel road,  the squeaky steps, and the creaky board in the kitchen, these are the sounds of the memories in this house.

This house is far larger than it's square footage. And that is what makes it the biggest house on the block.

-Eric

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