this is the end

When my dad departs for work tomorrow, he leaves our home empty for the next family to move into by the end of the day. 

I was so very lucky to grow up in a yard that covers nearly an acre and backs up against hundreds and hundreds of acres of undeveloped land owned by friendly neighbors who welcomed us to explore.

The photos below are not in chronological order. But they so perfectly summarize how I spent ages 0-6.

Before I started school, I spent every waking moment outside. Once I started school, I would always retreat to the yard at the end of each day. Sometimes I wouldn't even go inside (except to wash my hands and dash back out). I would be served a snack inside of my climbing cube. I was content for hours. digging. walking. chasing my dog. looking. talking to neighbors who walked by at the same time every day. watching the sun go down. watching the sky fill with stars. 

I can tell by the photo above that it was taken after 4:00pm. My neighbor was a sheriff and he arrived home every day precisely at 4:00pm. Hi Atticus, his voice would boom. 

This is me when I was first learning to walk. At first, I could barely make it off the porch. Then I could bravely venture to all corners of the yard. My yard always had soccer balls, baseballs, footballs, large balls for playing catch. A favorite game: throwing a ball up on the roof and watching it come back down; this was inspired by Grover's song about playing by yourself. 

Do you see the columbine by my ball? Right now (mid-March) is the best time of the year in my yard. The columbine had spread throughout the yard and it starts to bloom, followed by the wildflowers and my mimosa tree. Sadly, my massive lavender that was planted in 2004 was recently slaughtered; to see it in bloom was spectacular. And it tasted good too. 

On my second birthday, I was overjoyed to receive a gift of a bucket of rocks from my dear friend Anne. One of the rocks was almost perfectly round and it fit into a groove in a larger flat rock. I spent hours moving the rocks around my yard. 

and this is why I never ever cared about TV

We know nothing, really, about the new family who will move into our house. We have heard they have a little boy. I hope he loves my yard as much as I do.