Caledonia Road

Just another country road for some, but for us, Caledonia Road holds our past, childhood memories, and part of our hearts forever. It will always be the happy place we shared with Mom, Dad, and each other. Dinners at the table every night, laughter, music, long conversations about our day. We lived there from the time we were toddlers until we were young adults. We experienced our first loves, first broken hearts, and met our husbands while living there. Specifically for my cherished memories, I experienced becoming a mother there. 

The Farmhouse

I doubt when our parents purchased that old, rundown farmhouse they had any idea of the life that would be created there. They built an amazing life for two little girls, with things to always remember like the remodeling that never stopped. We had bedrooms upstairs, which most of the time we shared because one of us was afraid of the adjoining attic (we won’t mention any names here).

In the summertime, it was very hot upstairs. We would come downstairs and sleep on the living room floor to stay cool. We loved it. It was like a sleepover with your best friend. The original bathroom was so tiny that Dad remodeled it so that all three of his girls could be in there at the same time. We shared this house with many friends and family over the years. It would be the hub for holidays, get-togethers, and many a slumber party. It was a home filled with love and joy and will always represent what home should be to us. 

The Road

The road itself had a wonderful dip and served as a backdrop for many of our adventures. A racetrack for our bikes and motorcycles, a sledding course, a place to hone our softball skills, and a path to walk that led to our best friends. The Caledonia church and graveyard were at the end of the road. Our family took care of it for years, we spent lots of Saturdays there. We even played ghost in the graveyard with our friends there. Not as scary as it sounds, as it was a peaceful place.

The People

The people there were the salt of the earth! Before  ‘it takes a village’ became a catchphrase, we were living it in our small farming community.  We had neighbors that we shared our lives, not to mention meals, with weekly. We all worshipped at the same church, at  the end of the road. We had fish fries, ice cream socials at the firehouse, and church bazaars. We worked  together, helped each other, and celebrated each other's victories. Life also included mourning each other's losses, which helped us foster our lifelong relationships. We went Christmas caroling, trick or treating, and never thought twice about the homemade goody we were about to put in our mouths. We always felt safe in our little corner of the world.       

I think we all tend to romanticize our childhood, (if we had a good one that is) and there could be some truth to that for us about Caledonia Road. The older we get, the fonder the sweet memories become of our family and those two little girls that grew up in that old farmhouse on the beautiful country road.