Memories of Illinois

Sunday, Darcy & I drove over to Illinois to pick up my mom's car. It was a nice trip. I thought I was going to run out of gas on 74, but thankfully, we made it to a gas station. As I was leaving, I realized, this would be the last time I made this trip until my grandma passes away. It made me really sad. I text Darcy that & told her making the trip with her was only right. We have made that trip so many times in my 34 years. So many great memories were made on that trip & after we made it to the destination. Whether she lived in her big house in Goodwine, or we were out at camp, or her tiny house in Hoopeston or even her Independent living apartment, great times & memories were shared. Those trips to Illinois partly made me who I am today. It always brought our family together. Lantern Road scared the crap out of us (and probably would still to this day). Camp made us good "fisher women". My grandma always said if we were going to be "fisher women" then we had to bait our own hook. It made us not afraid of swimming in a lake even if we couldn't see the fish.

And her house in Goodwine, oh that house!! I cried like someone had died when I found out they were selling it! The memories shared in that house are endless. We made hard candy there every year around Christmas & burnt the crap out of our fingers. I still say I probably don't have finger prints because the candy was so hot. I figured out Darcy should NOT be a hair dresser. She would love to do my hair in my grandma's beauty shop, but I didn't love the ending product. We would drink well water right from the well in their scary downstairs. Or play in the toy box for hours. I even got a toy rattle when I was young, went outside on their step & ended up tearing up the sidewalk with this little plastic rattle. And I didn't even get in trouble! We would play endless hours of cards or dice. We would have what Rhianna would call "a feast" on holidays with the entire family coming out & enjoying the company and the great home cooked food. We thought we were cool when we could drink a Brandy Alexander or a Grasshopper. We loved the donkey that would spit cigarettes out its butt if you lifted the tail. The upstairs scared the crap out of us & no one wanted to sleep up there alone. But I did on occasion & always thought I would turn around & see someone in the corner or standing over my bed. Most of my step uncles & step aunts wouldn't sleep up there EVER! We loved looking in closets & dressing up in some of the clothes we found. Darcy & I would always love to sleep in the "princess" room. For some reason it made us feel like royalty. I could always count on my grandpa to be laying on the floor watching TV. Or in the mornings when we slept downstairs waking up to the smell of coffee & hearing my mom's voice talking in the kitchen. We loved the huge yard they had to play in. And the field to fly kites or play with the neighbors kittens when they would run over to see us. We would climb on the gas tank & ride it like a horse. We planted a huge garden of flowers every year for Mothers Day. We would put pennies on the railroad track & run out to look for them after a train had gone by. In years to come when they tear up those railroad tracks, someone will make a fortune if you can cash in smashed coins. LOL. Or walking down to the old railroad bridge. We felt like the Stand By Me kids walking across that bridge. It wasn't as long, but it sure seemed like it when you were a kid & scared to death that a train was going to come around the bend.

It was such a small town, it doesn't even have a stop sign, you drive down a road for a couple of miles & you have passed through it. But it was the world to me growing up. I will forever have these memories & plenty more that I won't bore anyone with who is reading this. So, that is why it made me sad driving away on Sunday. Just knowing that chapter of my life is really closing is such a sad thought!