Tonight’s the last night I will spend in the house I grew up in. Tomorrow, my parents and I will move to a bigger house in a better neighborhood. And while this will mark a new beginning, tonight my heart is incredibly sad for having to leave my oldest friend behind. For no matter where I go, this house will always be the one that I think of as home.
My grandparents lived in this house before my parents and I moved here. I first got to know this house as the place where I came to be pampered. And somehow over the years our relationship never changed. As time went by, 167 continued to be my friend who guaranteed shelter from life’s most troublesome storms. Whether it was those sleepless nights before the O-level’s exam results or recovering from my first bout of true heartbreak – 167 was the place where I could always fall asleep after a good cry and wake up feeling better.
Even when its roof leaked and paint peeled, it held it together to welcome all those that sought refuge here or came in search of a meal or a laugh or a pillow to cry on. It was always my little house with a big heart. Somehow within its small rooms, there was always place to house friends and family. And in its tiny kitchen there was always food enough for any who needed it.
167 taught me life’s most important lessons – including the lesson on how to walk! Since I was one, it’s been holding my hand and teaching me how to overcome my fears. It’s constantly been creating opportunities for laughter and thankfulness. It has been building for me fond memories that could easily last a lifetime.
This house also saw us through some very difficult times. It stood by us through sickness, death and financial crisis. It bore the scars of the bad times stoically. It became my unchanging constant in a troubled world that offered a constant supply of comfort. I cried to 167 when I couldn’t cry to others. I whispered to it all my troubles and secrets and once I had unburdened my troubles onto its pillows and walls – the situation always seemed less dire.
167 like a true friend sent me off on all of life’s adventures with a big smile and the promise to be waiting for me whenever I came back – excited or weary or jubilant and triumphant or beaten and sad. 167 sent me off on my greatest adventure to date – college. In the tiny dining room of 167, college application materials dotted every surface and towered over the dining table as I tried to convince schools across the world to give a chance. And when hope wore thin – 167 listened patiently to my rants and told me to hang in there. Good news first came to 167 in a letter in a white envelope with a blue bow on it and grey bulldog.
Tomorrow, 167 sends me off on another adventure. But tonight, before I leave, I will cry to 167 one last time and hope that I wake up in the morning feeling better.
