I recently finished "Grimoire Girl" by Hilarie Burton Morgan. It's not something I would usually read but I picked it up in hopes of getting into the Halloween spirit. However, the book pleasantly surprised me in a different way and tugged on my heartstrings until the last page.
One of the themes is the old phrase, "You can't go home again". Burton Morgan detailed the bittersweet emotions that she feels when she remembers her most cherished childhood memories. She described how melancholy she felt when she realized that she'll never be able to share those experiences with her children, though she's grateful to have experienced them at all. To Burton Morgan, home is not just a physical place. It's a string of treasured memories that create what she refers to as "the cornerstone of magic".
Listening to her describe her memories of her oddly decorated house and a dad with an affinity for ghost stories made me think of the special memories that I accumulated in my own childhood home. The memories are still so potent and fresh; I swear I feel like they just happened yesterday.
Right now, I can picture myself playing on my backyard jungle gym with callouses on my palms. I smell my dad's teriyaki chicken on the grill while my sister and I ride our scooters on our back patio listening to our outdoor speaker blast 107.9. My sister and I steal kidney beans out of my mom's chili pot when she isn't looking. Rocks crunch underneath my bike tires while I ride down our white dirt road. My family's laughter bounces off the wall of our above ground pool as the water splashes over the sides.
These memories live inside my sister and I. They are only ours and for that we are so lucky. Although Burton Morgan is right, I can't physically go back home again, it's okay. Those memories are still inside of me. They're imprinted on me and have helped turn me into the woman that I am today. Time has moved on and so have I but I'll never forget the home I was so blessed to grow up in and the love I was lucky enough to be surrounded by.
It's easy to look back on life with rose-colored glasses and nostalgia and see only the positive things. Nobody's childhood is perfect but I promise you that regardless, mine was nothing short of magical.
- Chelsea
