A Door to the Past

This is a title I mean quite literally.   Today I was over at my parent's house, looking into how water has gotten into their crawl space in the past in an effort to try and make sure it doesn't happen again.   Construction of a large home on the adjacent property which lies uphill from their house which brought with it a significant amount of impervious ground has been a cause for concern. 

Their house is one they've lived in for close to sixty years.   I was brought home from the hospital to there and grew up living at that one address.   Some children were moved around a lot.  I was never moved at all until I up and moved myself out as a college.

My father is a collector.   As a younger person I always marveled at the way he always had the thing I needed if I asked for something.   I still have that fascination about him even today.   As I've helped out recently I've found things from my personal childhood as well as general things my father collected.   There was an area he kept the soundproofing ear protection for when he was blowing leaves or mowing the yard.   He had four pairs, all of which he got at yard sales.  My father loves yard sales.   There's nothing like finding a good find for a great price. 

It got me realizing that while my father was a collector, he also didn't like to throw anything away if it might have a future use.   He's not a hoarder, he just likes solid, quality, old or interesting things.   Today, when I was in their crawl space I recognized something though.   Something that spoke to me from decades back and said, "you know me."

I moved off the ceiling tiles and brushed off the debris with my "cobwebinator", the broom I was carrying around with me, and discovered this: 

My parents redid some of their home in 1980, when. I was ten-years-old.   This is the front door, distinct in style, that I remembered.    It's been sitting in the crawl space, still solid wood and ready to be put to use after forty years in hibernation.

The Big Boy Update:  My son was doing schoolwork at home yesterday.   He did something when he didn't know I was listening that I know he wouldn't be allowed to do.   I heard him say, "Alexa, how do you spell efficiency?"   Although, I had to admit he was using his resources efficiently by asking.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter came home today and said she had the best lunch.   She hasn't been wanting to have the school lunches recently.  Initially, she insisted on it.   I asked her if she liked what she had and she told me, "Matthew, aka my crush, told me it was going to be mac-and-cheese."   Then she told me, "well, one of my crushes."  How many did she have, I asked.   "Only two.  The other one is Thomas."