Unless specified otherwise, text on this blog is copyright © by Christine Young.

I am currently updating my story, Commonwealth of Souls, so it is in draft form and not shown. I will post when I have completed it.



My Belief

"The value of humanity can be found in the way we proceed through life; the way we go or do not go to war; the way we hate or love our neighbor; the way we abuse or cherish our children, and, most importantly, the way we disregard or value nature and all the beautiful creatures sharing this planet with us. Respect and appreciation of nature and of all life itself is the foundation upon which a kind heart stands."

"Happiness is important. When you're happy your soul's thirst for light is quenched. But sadness is also important, as it allows for down time and contemplation, and, without sadness, how could we recognize happiness."

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Parsonage Place

This past weekend my sisters and I took a road trip to Long Island with my mom. Our primary purpose was to visit the house she grew up in the 20s. Her hope all along was that the current owners would be home and she would be able to see the back yard (the canal) where she played as a child.

When we got there we weren't sure of which house it was. We had an old photo that my Uncle Russell had taken of the house in the 1980s. We parked the car at the end of the canal and walked up the street looking at all the homes carefully. "The numbers must have changed" my mom said.

We proceeded to look at two homes in particular that had the chimneys in front. Then we spotted it. It was the house with the chimney but it also had the garage. The other house did not have the garage.

So, the four of us are outside this house on the street looking around while the woman in the back yard and her neighbor in the next yard are looking at us curiously. My sister said to them "don't mind us, we're just looking around" and I added, so they wouldn't think we were nuts, that "my mom grew up in this house". With that, the woman and her neighbor took one look at my mom and raced out to the front yard to meet her. What a special treat it was for my mom to be so welcomed. A few minutes later the woman's husband came home and we introduced ourselves to him also.

What a nice couple. I think they were more excited to meet my mom than she was to meet them. They had so many questions about their home. They had been able to trace the home's construction back to 1923 and no further, and my mom was able to confirm that, since she moved in with her family when she was four years old (1924) right after it was first built.

They invited us in to see the home and to show my mom the additions that were put on over the years (it was originally just a tiny cottage size home). We went out onto the back deck to finally see the canal my mom had told us about all during the years we were growing up. The canal that she and her sister and brothers had swam in and fished in and had so much fun in. Then we all took photos and promised to exchange via e-mail when they are all processed. My mom also promised that she'd try to find some old photos from way-back-when and make copies for them.

It was time to leave and we all said goodbye with smiles on our faces. The biggest smile was on my mom's face. It is a visit she will never forget.