Anderson Mollenkopf
Melanie Jankowski
ENG 111-108
09/07/2015

My Childhood Home
As you’re going down Grantwood Drive, look to the right and you’ll see the old two story brick house with green shutters, a beautiful garden, and an old beat up driveway. My childhood home is the place to go if I ever need to get my mind off of things, or just need to escape. Some of the best memories from childhood happened at that house. From backyard sports games with friends to cookouts with the family, no place will ever feel as comfortable as this house does.
When you walk in the front door the first thing to see is the amazing painting on the wall handed down three generations. Now venture in further you will see the old fireplace to the right, and the TV right above it. Once you turn to the left you’ll be walking towards the dining room. The dining room is one of my favorite rooms, mainly due to the crystal chandelier that has been there since before I was even thought of. When I was a toddler my father said I use to just stand there and watch it gleam in the sunlight. As you take another right out of the dining room, you’re entering the kitchen. The kitchen is set with maple hardwood floors, maple cabinets, and a marble counter top. Keep walking towards the back door, now we’re to the basement. Growing up the basement was carpeted, flat screen TV so my father and his friend could watch the game. Can’t forget about my grandpa’s poker table either. If you walk back up the stairs and take a left, you’re heading up another flight of stairs to the bedrooms. To the left at the top of the stairs was my parent’s bedroom. To the right at the top of the stairs is my bedroom. Go inside my bedroom take another right, and now you’re in my little brother’s bedroom.
If you go out the back door, you’ll see the back patio. To the left of the patio is the stone patio. In the middle of the stones is an engraved one with my aunt’s favorite quote on it. To the right of both patios is old charcoal grille, the beat up drive way, and the old school basketball hoop. For some odd reason my father never got a new grille and has had the same exact one since I was born. The beat up drive has needed to be changed for at least thirty years. Every two feet chunks of black top are lifted up and all over the place, making it hard for any car to park there. The old school basketball hoop is bolted onto the garage above to the doors. Since I can remember I’ve been practicing my game on that hoop.
If you’re sitting on the patio facing the back yard you’ll see a stone pond filled with all different type of fish. It brings an overall happy feeling once on the patio, because the view is pretty close to perfect and beautiful. With so many different colors of fish, my little brother used to call it the rainbow. Right beyond the pond is the back yard. My father used to work landscaping until he opened his sales company, so my back yard and front yard have been nothing but beautiful. From roses, to tulips, all the way to the gigantic pines trees making our backyard enclosed and private. Every time need to get my mind off of things I sit on the back patio and just stare into the sky and escape reality. Honestly the perfect spot for deep thinking.
The reason this house is full of the best memories is because life had no worries, and every day was a good one. It was the last place of happiness before everything went to hell, and our parents divorced. My best friend Justin lived across the street, but two houses over. From making tree forts with old doors neighbors had pitched to the trash, to jumping from the roof of my house to the roof of my garage. Back when we lived there, nobody could tell me no. I thought I was invincible. Also thought I was too strong to ever break a bone, up until I tripped over my brother and shattered my wrist in the backyard. Nothing can compare to the bonfires we used to have with our family, and friends. They started with kindling that my friends and I had gathered throughout the week, then the big logs my uncle bart would bring, topped with a little bit of gasoline. Seconds later the enormous fire would emerge and the childhood games would begin. My friend Tyler Gerken, one of my lifelong friends partook in some of the greatest memories as well. The top memories being the family bonfires, and lastly the hide and seek games we’d play in the “haunted” basement. When I was a toddler my mother said I’d just stare at one corner for hours of the day and talk like somebody was in front of me. Seeing I don’t remember any of that, we put quotations when we say haunted.
Overall the architecture of the house is beautiful. Every little aspect about it, I love. Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to take over the mortgage when my father decides to move out. The best part is my father still lives at the house, and I will be finally taking over the mortgage at the end of next year! My dream has always been to fix up the little injuries the house has taken on due to age, and that dream is finally coming true!