I walk this old house and I remember.
I look in there and see long lost memories,
Years gone by, days left to go.
We will soon be out of this house, others will be here.
This will be their house, but it will always be my home.

This is where I grew up, spent the best years of my life.
The sidewalk where I learned to ride a bike,
Scores of tee-ball games in the yard,
The garage he built himself. My dad has done so much,
And now we just let it go.

I walk this old house and I remember.

The table full of family dinners, board game nights, birthday parties.
The living room, the gathering room, the family room:
Names for one room that meant the most.
Every evening spent in that room as a family.
The couch where I spent many a nights,
After falling asleep on a late Friday evening.
The best hide-and-seek place in the coat closet in the den,
Behind the piles of blankets.
It was the first place to look in those games.

The kitchen where some of the best memories were made.
Making Christmas candies while Frank Sinatra played in the background.
The mornings I would sit on the counter and Dad made me waffles for breakfast.
The stool I sat on doing homework while Mom cooked supper.
The deck and patio where our summers were spent.
The fireplace, the chairs, that old bench.

The hallway I would practice my cartwheels in.
I wonder now how I never hit anything, never ran into a wall.
The master bedroom I would run to after a bad dream.
The bed I felt most safe in, right between my parents.

My bedroom, my sanctuary, my castle.
My place I could do anything with.
I could decorate it however I wanted,
Hang any pictures, any posters, any decorations.
It was my greatest work of art.
The walls are painted now, covering that old flowered wallpaper.
A soft blue to cover the cheap pink. What was I ever thinking?

The deck outside my bedroom.
I would sneak out my window at night
Watch the stars, think about life.
Afternoons I would take a book and a pillow, get some sun and read.
My closet which was never clean. Too many clothes that are never worn.

I walk this old house and I remember.

The blue siding that got damaged by hail. Never did fix that.
The old tree out front I climbed and watched the world go by.
The clothesline I used to be able to walk under, now I have to duck.
The half-rotted birdhouses we painted years ago.
The birds still come back every year.
The slab of concrete,
Many family basketball games played there.
Now the neighbors use it, we haven't in years.
The garden my mother meticulously cares for.
The garages my father keeps clean.
The big pine tree I climbed under in the winter, and got stuck.

I walk this old house and I remember.

This house won't be ours for much longer,
But it will always be our house.
It will be my home, my greatest memory.
Growing up is hard to do, but someone's gotta do it.
Now we can look back and smile.

I walk this old house and I remember.