About 7:30 tonight, I grabbed the camera and decided to explore my old neighborhood on the south side of Charlotte. I’d driven by my old house once or twice, so its nothing new to see it. This time, though, I happened to be out front when the “new” owners drove up (“new” isn’t entirely accurate since they’ve lived there 14 years).
What does one say to the owners of the house you used to live in twenty years ago? I mean, I’m a total stranger to them but not the house. Fortunately, they were really very cool and happy to meet a “plankowner” of the house. After talking to John and Lynn for a few moments, they invited me in for a tour! I was so happy I didn’t know what to do with myself!
For the next hour, John and Lynn walked me through the house. The owners prior to them had done a bit of remodeling: some for the better, some …eh, not so much. A few rooms, like the den, looked just like it did when we lived there.
My room was now their daughter’s and was painted in a very tasteful pink and green. John installed some recessed lighting in the room that looked really nice. Standing there, I could imagine my twin bed facing the door. I saw the desk where I too often neglected my homework. Ah, the memories!
The house has held up remarkably well in its twenty-three years. The original roof lasted up until last year, the downstairs air conditioner is original, and some of the heavy appliances are still in place. The huge ash tree in the front yard is healthy and thriving, which really warms my heart.
Other things are not so good. The windows need replacing as they’re nearly painted shut. The front dormer window is rotting (though nearly every dormer rots eventually, it seems). The electrical wiring is very strange, with some circuits wired incorrectly. I marveled at how I could recall all the other little quirks of the house, twenty years after we moved out. The leak under the master bath, the settling in the front bedroom. How does that stupid stuff take up brain cells?
I would have loved to get pictures of the inside, but that is asking a little too much of total strangers. Still, they were very friendly and welcoming. Lynn joked that she felt she should have made cookies for me for my visit! I hope we can stay in touch because they seem like really neat people.
John and Lynn had bought the house from a couple who was in the midst of a divorce and who moved out so quickly they didn’t even empty the attic of all their belongings. Lynn half-jokingly told me this caused them to worry a little about the house’s karma.
“Don’t worry,” I reassured them. “This has always been a very good house.”
Yes, the house is like an old friend. Its nice to see that its aged so well.
