Home Again~ A Short Story

 Death can turn your life upside down. It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to my parents, and then it was time to let go of my childhood home. I was driving to meet a couple who might want to buy it.

 On the car ride, my mind was spilling over with childhood memories of past holidays: the chaos of a house full of cousins, people laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying their time together. My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes. How could I say goodbye to it all? My entire childhood—my past?

 When I arrived, I hurried up the sidewalk to the house, twisted the key in the lock, and flung the door open. I was home.

 I stood gazing at the staircase my brother and I used to race down every Christmas morning. I stared into the living room. In the corner of that room, there were indentions on the carpet where my dad’s recliner sat for as long as I could remember. I could still see him leaning back with a book on his chest and his glasses pulled down on his nose, snoring.

 I went into the kitchen where Mom spent many Sunday afternoons baking cookies. I don’t think I could put a number on the peanut butter sandwiches, glasses of Kool-Aid, and warm fresh cookies my friends and I enjoyed in that kitchen. Oh, and the aroma of fresh rolls and a turkey baking on Thanksgiving that wafted out of that kitchen still made my stomach growl.

 I walked over to the sink and gazed out the window at the backyard. Outback sat an old rusty swing set. My brother and I tried to see who could swing the highest. Of course, it wasn’t so run down back then. It was green with white stripes at one time. I smiled as I thought back to the time I fell off the slide and bloodied my knees. My dad rushed out to me, wiped away my tears, took me inside, and put bandages on my wounds.

 As I stood there reminiscing, a quote came to mind from one of my favorite authors, Thomas Wolfe. He said, “You can’t go home again.” I always thought that quote was correct, but the more I thought about it, I had to disagree. While another family will own this home, and I’ll never be able to walk through those doors again, this house is only a structure. I’ll always be able to return home as long as I have my memories. Time spent with my family is what made that house a home.

 I can close my eyes and go home to my memories anytime.

Even more updates!

 I have updated my pages on where to buy ebooks and children's books. The picture books are less pricey at Barnes & Noble, but I don't have an ebook format for picture books on B&N, yet. I'm still working on it.

On Amazon, the picture books are also available as ebooks and on Kindle Unlimited. So, you can read them for free if you have it. ❤

The adult ebooks are no longer on Kindle Unlimited because I can't enroll them now that they are available on many other platforms. I hope that's a good thing! 👀

Stories to Wrap Your Mind Around: Volume 6 will be available on September 1 as planned. I'm still working on editing for The Bindlestiff Myster, but I hope to have it available in October. 🙏

My next product is Opal and Ali. I started writing this one a long time ago, and I had 5 out of 10 chapters. I lost all but 2! I had writing saved on a disc that no longer works. I don't know if it's degraded or what, but I am not happy about it. 😡

Luckily, I still have some handwritten notes and an outline for all chapters, so I'll start again! I've made the cover. I love book covers on Canva. I think it'll inspire me to write!

 

I haven't written out a blurb or summary, yet. But, it's a children's story about a little girl who finds an unusual friend in the garden of her new home. 

It's not a picture book but a children's first chapter book. 

I'm sure I'll be back soon with more updates!! 

Happy Reading!