Amanda the Great by Amanda El-Dweek for August 02, 2023

As we grow up, the old home seems much smaller than we remember it. And, sometimes very sad.

Hah! I was born on a farm. They subdivided the land some time ago. There is a Lutheran church where there once was sweet corn. I try not to think of them in relation to Children of the Corn. The house became very small. I guess all the boards did shrink?

Awwww! Such fond childhood memories!

My Mom and dad had built a home in the early 50’s, but moved to another in the 70’s! until one day my sister called me, while visiting the old neighborhood, and asked what the address was again and she said it’s gone. Gasp! ☹️☹️ My brother, sister and me were devastated, because that’s where we grew up! We still can’t believe it’s gone!

After some research, I went to the minutes of a city hall meeting where it was decided to raze the house because it was empty. This city has a reputation for razing empty homes for fear of becoming an attraction to drugs, etc.

Depressing.

I sometimes drive past my old family home when I’m in the area. It seems empty, like there was a connection there that’s been lost.

Archeology of the heart. Sometimes it veers toward maudlin.

I love your looking-back stuff, Amanda. Especially panel 3. Nice!

Huh . . . now I am feeling oddly nostalgic about the patch of parking lot that replaced the house I grew up in (though not the actual house; that place was more toxic and dysfunctional than the family was). It’s been awhile since I went back to stare at the parking spot that more or less lines up with where my bedroom window used to be.

I love how Amanda puts her heart on display in this strip.

It’s tricky when you look back… and it’s no longer there.

Lots of universal truths today

Wow, this really hit home for me. Going back to my Grandparents North Dakota farm every year to help with the harvest were the best years of my life. When my Grandfather died we went to the old farm site after the funeral. It was heartbreaking. The barn had collapsed, The house was falling down, and the only thing standing was the outhouse and the well pump. And the layout seemed so small. It’s hard to remember the good times when the image of the last visit over shadows them. But life goes on, right?

I love “I had to stare wistfully off into the distance.” Reed’s grandparent’s had a farm back in the day. There was a lot of wistful distance staring.

Google Street View is a great tool to revisit addresses from the past. I was able to show my parents places that were meaningful to them. They really enjoyed it.

The there had mostly gone away.

Change like that is so difficult

Yet you can still smell the next meal being prepared. Simmering for hours on the stove, and from quick peaks into the oven to check the progress. Vivid memory of the youthful faces as they were. If you were lucky you picked chokecherries by the bucket and longed for the jelly and wine to come out from the root cellar later in the year. The voices in the kitchen exchanging the area news… with a bit of commentary.

BTW, in Germany we already do have the 3rd of August, therefore….

❤️ Happy Birthday, Amanda! ❤️

Funny about nostalgia today – I was just remembering seeing the basement of the house in Germany where my mother had to hide during the bombing runs as a child…