In 1981, I packed up my sparse belongings and headed to Texas with no real vision of life beyond high school. I only knew I was ready to leave. Ready to get on with college. You know the saying, the world was my oyster.
Yesterday as I crossed the Red River into Oklahoma, I said, “Adios,” to Texas. Although I’ll return occasionally, things will be different. I will be a visitor.
For weeks and weeks, we’ve been purging and packing and decluttering. Moving is hard work. Multiple trips to Goodwill. A yard sale. Monday things got real as we said goodbye to our Dallas home on Worth Street.
Walking through for the last time, her rooms sat empty yet overflowed with memories.
I thought back on our first night in the house when the kids were young and the house was new to us. Her creaky floors and old beams felt strange yet comforting, welcoming. We had no way to know what Worth Street would hold for us.
All those Thanksgiving leftovers enjoyed. Slumber parties when the entire house was overrun with wide-eyed, giggling girls. How many books were read underneath this roof? Movies watched, decisions made, walls painted and re-painted, spelling words studied, plants planted, loads and loads and loads of laundry washed and folded, homecoming and prom pictures taken from the front porch swing, tears cried and wiped away, debates argued, suppers eaten, prayers prayed?
Tate (red vest) with his friends. Prom 2010.
We built a rich life together on Worth Street. It wasn’t always perfect, but it was real.
It was ours.
There are things I will dearly miss.
The slant of the early morning sun through the upstairs porch.
The summer dragonflies and how they flit and dip into the pool water.
Our secret garden beyond the iron gate.
Her stately columns.
The history of the area and being part of something bigger.
Our friends.
Since the moment we decided to leave Texas, I’ve been writing this blog post in my head, trying to imagine different neighbors, a different way of life. There is no neighborhood like Munger Place, and we consider ourselves fortunate to have lived there.
A piece of my heart will always be in Texas, but I hope you’ll follow my adventures in Arkansas.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Musical Pairing:
Already Gone, Sugarland
