Go West.

Dear House with the Red Door,We left you for good. Not like all the other times, when it felt for good, while we were off on some faraway adventure. This time, we aren't coming back.I wonder if I'll miss you.I never liked our street very much. The street where neighbors rarely tread. I never liked our back alley, I always wanted it to be our back yard. And I never liked the furry friends you would let in while we were off on said faraway adventures.But, I know I'll miss you.You shone brightest in winter. With the fireplace warm and cozy, we'd light it every night. How many conversations did you overhear? Quiet whispers beneath the drawl of the record player. Did you ever wonder if we'd died during Tannhäuser Overture, laying there like stones? Did you ever wonder if you'd combust, when so many bodies cozied into that tiny room to be near the warmth? I loved those nights. Sometimes we'd even have to open the window and let in some winter air. We toasted bread and cheese in the flames.What is it about the kitchen floor? It's the window, isn't it. Why we'd sip our morning coffee on it's cold hardness. You taught me a friend is best when she sits on the floor while you putter in the kitchen, you cook together, then you end up back on the floor to continue the conversation... Maybe eat there, too. So many dances on your floors. My feet on Andrew's with the Saturday Sun. You have been put to the test by the little one, her thundering steps, so much bigger than her body, during Carrying the Banner. You were where we brought her home. Her first room, her first bed, her first shelf with books. Your walls were happiest with her drawings covering them. You knew her face so long before, as it smiled in every room. You heard the hopes, prayers, and tears of us, two yearning parents. What were you before her? A boring mess of tidyness, I guess.We loved you, we lived in you. And now we go on. We won't miss you as the house, we miss you as the home. The memories, the life, and the people that filled you. That is what made you sweet.