Remember When

Memories #6

For most other kids at age five it wasn't normal to move houses every few months or years.

Unfortunately, that was the type of thing I lived through for the first five years of my life. Because of my dad's job, we were always moving, from one state or city to the next.

I was born in one state, then when I was two I moved again, only to move away again a month later. At five years old, I moved again and then left that town about four months later. It wasn't a bad life, but having to move so often took a toll on my family.

Although I don't remember much, it was my older sister who told me the tales of how we moved all the time. 

She told me how sometimes our things wouldn't arrive on time, how the moving trucks would delay and sometimes there'd be no clothes to wear, no real bed to sleep in, how we hadn't lived in an actual house, only apartments and condos since I was born. She told me how tiring it was, to be the 'new girl' all the time and to leave all the friends she'd made.

My mother didn't even bother to unpack her stuff when we moved to your town. In a condominium area of town, we lived in a decent place and had enough to get along well.

But for the first half a year, my mom was ready at every moment, for the time to come when we had to pack up the clothes and suitcases again and move away.

Luckily, the time didn't come within the first year.

Nor did it come the second.

The third year we were safe too.

But in the fourth year, it came.

I was nine years old, starting fourth grade. Our friend group consisted of me, you, Rieka, and Felix. It was just us four, although in my class I only had you. All of us had known there was a chance of me leaving.

And when we had found out, it was heartbreaking.

My older sister was upset too, frustrated and mad. She was 15 then and had a stable high school life, there was no way she'd leave all that for some new school and be the 'new kid' again.

I wasn't as concerned about that, I just didn't want to leave my friends. And they didn't want me to leave them. At first, we pretended that I wouldn't be leaving, that I'd still be there with all of you. Yet, we were forced to see the reality when you came over to my condo and saw the boxes packed up.

Our friend group hugged me and we cried together when it was just us, letting go of the fourth-grade frustrations and sadness of me leaving. A small group of only four, we would bunch up in a group hug every day before the day I finally had to go, with you, Rieka, and Felix begging me not to leave.

Aggravated and upset for making me leave my friends, I tried not to talk or listen to my parents for days, and I was exceptionally confused when my sister was on friendly terms with them.

Until the day came I had to leave my condo.

And then it was the best day ever.

I was moving, yes.

But it was a move from our previous condo, to a real house.

And the best part was, it was closer to you, Rieka, and Felix. I now lived in an area nicknamed the 'bird neighborhood' because all the street names had a bird in it. With Rieka only lived three houses down my road, Bluebird Drive, and you and Felix just a few streets over on Cardinal Circle.

A nice neighborhood with plenty of kids to play with, my friends close by, and finally living in a real house, that move was definitely a good one.

But not the last one.

Hey to you too,

Yes, I remember. We were so sad when we found out I was moving, and I was so mad at my parents that I didn't even hear when they told me and my sister where we would be moving.

Thankfully we moved though. Because if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't as close to you and the others as I had been in middle and high school.

~Me?

P.S. I'm still listening to the K-Pop from the 2010s. Those were the best ages. But honestly? Same here, I don't have to time to stan or pay much attention to new groups.

P.P.S. Are you still in contact with Rieka, Felix, Liv, Noam, Emory or any of the others?

Sent ✔