Strong Words, Softly Spoken

Today I had a huge slap in the face at how much things change without you even realizing it’s happening. I came to the beach this morning to spend some time with my mom and see some friends/family. After I got here, my mom wanted to get out of the house, so we got in the car to go to Target and ended up taking a little detour out to this small island in Gulf Shores where a few members of my family used to live. My step-dad’s family lived on this island for as long as I can remember. I recall being a small child, still young enough to stand up in the back of the car and not touch the roof, and coming to visit and asking my mom on the drive down how much longer until we saw Gracie, aka my cousin who used to live on the island. So, needless to say, this is a place I’ve been coming most of my life.

Back in 2004, Hurricane Ivan wiped out many of the houses on the island, including my step-dad’s mother’s house. The house was condemned and, since she passed away in the 90’s, all the kids decided to sell it since there was no longer a house to live in on the property. So they sold it, and I haven’t been out there since.

So, today, my mom and I drove out there and it was…depressing. I saw a piece of my childhood disappear before my eyes. Neither house that family members once occupied are there anymore and whoever purchased the land has done nothing with it, so there are trees and overgrowth where there used to be lawns. What was once a great piece of waterfront property now looks like nothing more than an overgrown jungle, with growth so high you can’t even see the water anymore.

I look back at my childhood and remember all the time I spent there….in the house that’s no longer there. On the shrimp boat that used to dock out back. And then I look at what that’s become and well, such is life I guess. You grow up, and you change, and everything around you changes…makes me wish I’d learn to use my camera a little more.