Treasured Memories

Growing up, we moved a lot. Often when I talk with people about where I grew up and my transient childhood, they instantly guess I was a "military brat"; however, that is not the case. My dad was a college basketball coach.

The number of times my family moved proved difficult at times, but certainly had its benefits: I feel pretty comfortable in new situations, enjoy meeting new people, and have traveled much of this country. Occasionally, I think back to making the move from Alabama to the suburbs of Chicago just before starting high school and am amazed that I made it those first few weeks with my southern drawl, but I did. I actually met my wonderful husband there and am continually amazed at God's plan and provision for our lives.

One of the places growing up that continually felt like home was my Nannie and Pop-Pop's house in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Because my mom was a teacher and my dad often had more time off in the summer, we would head up to the Cape after school was out and spend many weeks enjoying the beaches, lakes, and time with family.

While my Nannie and Pop-Pop are no longer living and I haven't been back to the Cape in years, I have so many memories of that special place - the penny candy store; riding bikes around the many cul de sacs until dark and my parents forced us to come home; the "treasure hunting" we would do in my Nannie's basement; taking donuts to the beach in the morning; the crazy picture in my Nannie's house of the sea captain whose eyes always followed us; walking out on the rock jetties; and many more. It is such a treasured place in my memory that Cliff actually proposed there, knowing how important it was to me.

Now that I'm an adult, one of the things that takes me back instantly to the memories of the Cape are hydrangea bushes. There were hundreds of them all throughout my Nannie's neighborhood. I always loved the flowers - particularly, their amazing and different colors. The blue ones were my favorite and still are.

When we moved into our home four years ago, we planted two hydrangea bushes. I was desperately hoping that they'd bloom and do well here, and thankfully they have. This is the first year they're large and maturing with numerous blooms. As I walk past the hydrangea bushes each day, I enjoy memories of my Nannie and Pop-Pop, remember the time we spent on the Cape, and look forward to making sweet memories with our kids one day.