One of my favorite songs on the radio right now is Miranda Lambert's "The House that Built Me".
It chokes me up EVERY time I hear it because it reminds me of my childhood, and I wish the car radio would have a "replay" button so I could listen to it again.
Watch it in full screen mode - it is a beautiful video!
My family moved into our house when I was 4 years old (1963).
My parents lived there until they passed away in 2009.
THIS is the house that built ME!
It is located at 396 South Winooski Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. To anyone else, there wouldn't be anything special about this house. To me, it is like a giant time capsule containing memories from all of the stages of my life.
This is a picture of me when I was 4 years old. We moved into the house before my sister Lori was born. This picture was taken on the day of her baptism. I was sitting in a wrought iron chair made by my father.
Here I am the following year in our back yard. My mom used to make "pin curls" in my hair by twisting little sections and pinning them to my head with bobby pins until my hair dried. It looks like she forgot to do the bangs that day!
This was my 5th birthday party. Actually, it was my only birthday party. This was the only big party with lots of invited guests, that is. We usually celebrated birthdays with only my immediate family.
My older sister, Kathy, is holding my younger sister, Lori behind me. My brother, Paul, is standing next to them. I think my cousin Mary is to my right and my cousin Diane is to my left. The others are neighbors.
We used to have an old claw-footed bathtub which was my job to clean. I remember this red bathing suit well. And I kept my long hair in braids.
I was in high school when this picture was taken. I was writing my first high school term paper. I was wearing my long johns with a sweater, mismatched ski socks, and a scarf on my head, probably because my hair wasn't washed. This was on my bed in the bedroom I shared with my two sisters. Is that a corsage pinned to my sweater?? I really can't remember.
This was taken in our living room before Christmas with Jim McCormick, my date to the Snow Ball.
Nobody went out and bought expensive fancy dresses back then. I was wearing a long plaid skirt and a black top - both belonged to my mother! Notice the Dorothy Hamill haircut!
Here I am sitting with my cat, Diddles (or Mr. Deets) when I was in college. I remember wearing this rag wool sweater a lot!
When I moved away to Connecticut after college, I would go home often. I proudly brought my future husband there, my own children, and my dogs. I can honestly say that every time I turned the corner onto my street, my heart would beat faster in anticipation of going "home".
We sold the house after my parents passed away. The new owners renovated it A LOT. Last summer when my sister Lori was visiting from Alaska, the new owner was nice enough to invited us in and give us a tour of the house after the renovations. Nothing much remains the same on the inside - it was gutted and totally redone. The outside is a different color and has also been changed. We walked through it much like Miranda Lambert in the music video. It was beautiful.
But in my mind, I was seeing the house as it was before. And I could still feel the love that had been there for my lifetime. I still felt like I was "home" and boy, was it a good feeling!
It chokes me up EVERY time I hear it because it reminds me of my childhood, and I wish the car radio would have a "replay" button so I could listen to it again.
Watch it in full screen mode - it is a beautiful video!
My family moved into our house when I was 4 years old (1963).
My parents lived there until they passed away in 2009.
THIS is the house that built ME!
It is located at 396 South Winooski Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. To anyone else, there wouldn't be anything special about this house. To me, it is like a giant time capsule containing memories from all of the stages of my life.
This is a picture of me when I was 4 years old. We moved into the house before my sister Lori was born. This picture was taken on the day of her baptism. I was sitting in a wrought iron chair made by my father.
Here I am the following year in our back yard. My mom used to make "pin curls" in my hair by twisting little sections and pinning them to my head with bobby pins until my hair dried. It looks like she forgot to do the bangs that day!
My older sister, Kathy, is holding my younger sister, Lori behind me. My brother, Paul, is standing next to them. I think my cousin Mary is to my right and my cousin Diane is to my left. The others are neighbors.
This was taken in our living room before Christmas with Jim McCormick, my date to the Snow Ball.
Nobody went out and bought expensive fancy dresses back then. I was wearing a long plaid skirt and a black top - both belonged to my mother! Notice the Dorothy Hamill haircut!
When I moved away to Connecticut after college, I would go home often. I proudly brought my future husband there, my own children, and my dogs. I can honestly say that every time I turned the corner onto my street, my heart would beat faster in anticipation of going "home".
We sold the house after my parents passed away. The new owners renovated it A LOT. Last summer when my sister Lori was visiting from Alaska, the new owner was nice enough to invited us in and give us a tour of the house after the renovations. Nothing much remains the same on the inside - it was gutted and totally redone. The outside is a different color and has also been changed. We walked through it much like Miranda Lambert in the music video. It was beautiful.
But in my mind, I was seeing the house as it was before. And I could still feel the love that had been there for my lifetime. I still felt like I was "home" and boy, was it a good feeling!
Wow, Gayle! Great post. Loved the photos. We had a bathtub just like that when we were younger.
ReplyDeleteVery handsome date for the Snowball dance. Loved the plaid jacket he is wearing..lol.
And you look just as young as when you were in college now! How do you do it???