1103

something interesting happened this weekend down in champaign. crissy and i went rollerblading all over campus, for about an hour or so. it was great just to see everything, even to remember “oh yeah, this bit of pavement is crap, just like it was four years ago.”

we eventually made our way over to lincoln avenue, and i thought “what the heck, let’s go see the house, i bet it looks even worse than the last time i saw it.” so, feeling a bit like i was in a frogger game, we crossed lincoln and headed over to 1103 S. Busey.

The enormous bushes that covered nearly both of the front two windows were gone.... and the blinds were up. at which point i said, “crissy, i don’t think there’s anything in there...” and hobbled up the lawn and peered in the window. sure enough, it was empty. i went to the front door thinking, well, we never locked it (did it even lock? i’m not sure), turned the handle, and it swung open. so in we went. the carpet on the first floor was gone, and there is a really nice hardwood floor under there! (surprising, considering all the beer that must have been spilled on it) they are clearly in the process of renovating it, because the sink and toilet were gone from the downstairs bathroom, there was a new stainless steel kitchen sink sitting in front of the stairs, and a pile of new kitchen tiles... we headed upstairs. that carpet was still there (eww it stunk!) : ) the bathroom had shower doors. girls! could you even have imagined! those two weird-ass showers having doors! they replaced the sink.... although now there’s only one instead of two. (bad planning when you have six bedrooms upstairs!) it was extremely strange that there was no refridgerator upstairs... but all the rooms were virtually the same, all the same wall-paper border.... all the same furniture... eves, your closet has a door! frannie, you have a mirror on your ceiling! (heh heh, i don’t remeber that being there....) :) and then my room.... my little wonderful room that i loved. gosh, i get so attached to places.... i just sat there for a minute. i never thought i’d be in that room again, ever. and as we walked down the hall towards the stairs, it felt just like we still lived there. surreal. we checked out the back. they had repaved the driveway, and paved over that weedy area just outside the screened-in porch for more parking. a lot of our old furniture (dining room chairs, that round glass coffee table... were piled up in schaffer and nate’s old room) and there, sitting in the driveway – clearly and finally ready for the dumpster, were our old sofas... gross! : )

in a strange way it provided closure for me... i always felt like i left a part of me there in that room at 1103- a part of me that flourished during college and gave me the most awesome friends and fun times of my life. a part of me that was creative and inspired and confident in who i was. a part of me that these last years i wondered if i’d lost.... and i think, this weekend, i got to go back and get it.