Home #2: 19th St. in OKC

New House: Surprise!

I was quite surprised when, at the age of 7, I learned that my parents had been talking about a move from the home where they had lived since getting married, and lived when my two older brothers and I were born, on til when I began elementary school.

The New House Was Glorious!

Before I had time to get too sad at the idea of leaving the only home I had known so far, I was introduced to the proposed new house: glorious! So many things to love about it!

• Four bedrooms upstairs, plus a "library" downstairs which could double as a guest bedroom, especially since it was right next to the downstairs bathroom, which even included a shower.
• A crystal chandelier in the dining room which sparkled like diamonds.
• White carpet throughout the downstairs . . yikes, probably a nightmare for my mother with three kids, a dog and a cat . . . but somehow it worked out.
• Regal-looking drapes in the living room.
• An attic fan which cooled the house quite well with natural outside air most of the time. Many people had central AC by then . . . but my father didn't think it was necessary, especially with that attic fan. For the hottest days, there was ONE window AC in the library, and we could take refuge in there.
• A corner lot . . . . naturally! This family seems to favor corner lots . .
• A fascinating (especially for kids) backyard complete with a sidewalk going around one half of it for flower garden viewing . . . I think the people who were selling the house had lots of monkey grass planted all around, plus lilies and whatnot . . . my father, of course, would soon embellish with his iris. The other half of the yard was a utilitarian place, with our playground equipment, a sandbox, a shed and a big "wall" of tall shrubs blocking us off for privacy's sake from the street that was right on the other side of the fence.
• A huge (in my mind then, and I think I would still think so . . . ) screen porch with a cement floor, which meant that it was OK to ride a tricycle round and round in there . . . and at age 7, that was still significant, at least for a short time. I did not yet ride a bicycle, since I had been injured on my maiden voyage on a bicycle at about age 5 or 6, in our previous neighborhood.

Old and New Neighbors
The "new" house was just a few blocks away (north, I think) from our original house, but friends and neighbors seemed to think we were making a huge social leap. I cared nothing then and still care very little about "prestige," "status" or "appearances" when it comes to where I live or what car I drive or what clothes I wear, etc. The character of the people around me and the purity of the natural environment always matter most. But apparently some of the neighbors near the first house thought we were moving away from them in more ways than just physically. We did not feel that way at all. Practically speaking, however, it's true that once we moved, we saw a lot of our new neighbors and rarely saw our previous neighbors anymore. But a visit back there was just a short walk, drive or bicycle ride away.
Memorable Milestones
While living in our second house, we/I experienced milestones including these:

• My brothers and I each quickly had a new "best friend" in the new neighborhood since a family up the street had a kid that matched us in age and gender: a girl my age and two boys the ages of my brothers. Therefore, there was lots of going back and forth between our house and theirs, pretty much from the beginning. I was in second grade and my brothers were in 5th grade and 7th grade respectively when we arrived in the new neighborhood. A few years later, however, from my point of view, a shift started to take place as I and that girl grew apart in lots of ways, not sure why. No big blowup or anything during those years, but . . . we were just less close as time went by. Still, I have lots of positive and interesting memories involving her and me, and her family. At the beginning of my fifth grade year, a new girl moved in further down the block and we became pretty good friends practically from the first day she was in class at school with me. I think I reached out to befriend her, as I recall. Pretty soon, it was she and I who were often a twosome running around the neighborhood. I remember lots of "spending the night" events with both of these girls . . . at their houses. The first girl got way too homesick to spend the night at our house. She tried a couple of times and both times, ended up going home before falling asleep. I think I was the one to spend the night at the second girl's house and not the other way around mostly because by that time, I had a baby sister sharing my bedroom! Her house offered more privacy for two 5th and 6th grade girls. Anyway, those friendships meant a great deal to me and pretty much defined the time that we spent in that neighborhood, to me.
• The house itself was great . . . . often kind of a cluttered, what with 3 kids and a baby in a very big house . . . but it offered the fundamental comforts that we needed, plus more.
• The birth of my baby sister at the beginning of my 4th grade year was of course a huge change, and she immediately became the focal point of the family. When she was 2, almost 3, we had to move to Kansas . . a huge undertaking.

I have more to say about this house. Those years (age 7-12) were a hugely formative time in my life, needless to say. But I'm running out of steam and will either add more to this entry later or will write a new entry with more info on this great house!
Note: The picture at the top of this blog was taken in 2009! The house looks the same, but there are some minor differences that only people who knew the house back then will recognize -- sidewalk, tree, garden stuff. Thanks to my childhood friend Nancy S.D. for taking this photo for me recently!