"A Sentimental Journey..."

Once in a great while, I like to take a little journey backward, reflecting on experiences of the past. I took such a journey the other day, back to my childhood and curiosity led me to search for pictures of the two houses I grew up in in Santa Monica, California.  I suspected there would be changes, but was taken aback at just how many changes there were.


The first house I remember we lived in was at 2205 Ashland Avenue.  Dad bought this house shortly before he ventured into the restaurant business.  I can't be sure, but I believe they paid all of $6,000 for it.  It was a cozy little 2-bedroom, 1-bath home with a single car garage and a  huge backyard.  I spent my formative years there, enjoying friendships with just about every kid on the whole block!  I can still remember some of their names: Joan Tommasino, Ivan Anderson, Suzie Klein and a couple of boys who lived on the farthest corner house.  Most of the other houses were occupied by only adults.


I learned to roller skate, ride a bike, grasped a little taste of independence by earning an allowance by cleaning the bathroom and my bedroom and later, the living room and doing dishes.  Oh, and practicing my piano every day.  My dad was a great teacher and led me to know the value of a dollar.  I could spend it foolishly and pay the consequences later, or spend wisely and save a little here and there.  Mostly, I spent my dollar foolishly for things like candy and ice cream!


My early childhood was full of fun and friends and laughter and sometimes, tears.  I skinned my knees innumerable times, stubbed my toes relentlessly, and stepped on uncountable nails because I refused to wear shoes!  Our huge backyard was a little girls dreamland.  Mom and dad had a "Victory Garden," planted after the end of WWII.  There were all sorts of vegetables that I could pick and eat.  And farthest from the house were two avocado trees.  One didn't bear any fruit, but the one that did was always loaded with avocadoes--my favorite!  The branches of this tree hung down to the ground and was a perfect hiding place whenever I wanted to get away from my brother.  Later, it would serve as my "girls only" meeting place.


I don't have a picture of what it looked like when I lived there, but here is a picture of what it looks like today.

They have converted the garage into a Master Suite and added a second bathroom.  They have bricked in the driveway...a feature that I love.  That big lawn in the front was there in my childhood and I remember practicing cartwheels and back-bends endlessly,  And when my brother was finished mowing the lawn, I would scoop up the grass cuttings and form my own little house for my little tiny babies to live in.  (Yes, I was a crazy kid!)  I don't have any pictures of the backyard or the inside, but I was able to take a virtual tour of the whole house.  My, my what beautiful changes have taken placer here!  All of the floors are wood.  I don't know whether they are the original wood floors or not, but they are beautiful.  They have opened up the kitchen with a pass-through bar into the dining room and extended the kitchen into where mom's washer and cleaning sink was.  It is truly an improvement.


There have also added a  family room behind the second bedroom with open vaulted ceilings.  The back yard now has a covered patio next to the house, a concrete area and a new 2-car garage which is accessed from the alley.  All of the landscaping is California coastal and they have done a very nice job.  But, the avocado trees are gone!  This house holds many happy childhood memories.  It was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. 


The second house I lived in in Santa Monica, from 1950 to 1957 (when I graduated from High School and went off to College), was located just one block from my dad's restaurant, Pickle Bill's.  This is the house that has undergone an interesting transition from a lovely, quaint 1940's Spanish Style home with arches on the front porch and over the driveway.  It was a flat roof design with the red Spanish tile showing only on the outline of the roof.  I loved this house.


I grew up here, from childhood to my teen years.  I went through an ugly puberty, turning into a selfish, self-willed teen that my mom and dad had to suffer through.  I was lonely here.  There were no children that I knew on the block...and all of my friends went to a different school.  I was shy and unsure of myself as I approached my teen years.  The only three things I had that brought me joy, were my dancing lessons, my piano lessons (yes, I loved piano!), and tending my baby sister, "Teenie!"  It wasn't until I got to Jr High School that I finally made friends.  I was impressionable and at times, my choices of friends was not what my parents approved of.  So, I suffered through either rejection by my parents or acceptance from my new friends.  Unfortunately, I chose the latter.


The only thing that saved me during my tumultuous  teen years, was my activity in my Church.  Here, I found new friends who pointed me in the right direction...though I still felt like the middle of the rope in a "tug o' war" contest.  Which side would win?  I found my Savior in that activity in church.  And even though there was a war going on inside of me, I always managed to choose the right side of the issue.  I chose Christ.


I "grew up" in this house!  I learned that my parents were the greatest gift I could ever ask for.  And, in the end, are the very best friends a girl can have here on earth.  Oh, my selfish nature still creeps its ugly head into my behavior from time to time, but deep in my heart I knew which path I want to follow...I want the one where Jesus will sometimes carry me and sometimes let me fall.  But it always was and has been a comfort to know that He is always there.


The house on 26th Street was transformed recently, and I found a picture of its transformation.]

To say I like the change would be a lie.  I like the old architecture!  There was no virtual tour for this house, so I have no idea what that new two-story addition looks like on the inside.  They have changed the entry from a side door off of a porch, to a front door off of a new walkway.  A few years ago, before they did these changes, I visited the property and there was a really intriguing Japanese style garden on the entire front lawn.  All of that is gone now.  I don't have the picture I took on this computer, but the house was still the old one!


Like the two houses I grew up in, both have undertaken many changes and so have I.  In some respects, my life has blossomed into something beautiful, like the first house, and I have evolved into a modern world, learning new directions, new ways to give and get love, new respect for my family and friends and even those I have never mer.  I have grown to love history and both of these homes represent a vital part of my history.  I am grateful for the memories I have and the experiences that brought me to where I am today...all through the living and loving in these two homes.  I pray their current owners will also experience such love while they occupy their respective homes.


Thank you Santa Monica for giving my parents two homes that, if their walls could speak, would testify to the world, that "here lived a good, happy family."  Thank you 2205 Ashland Avenue for giving me laughter, tears, love and the beginning of my journey to find Jesus.  My friend, Joan, taught me the verse in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son."  I memorized that part and kept it in my hart.  Thank you, 2318-26th Street for giving me growth, both in finding and accepting Christ into my lifer and creating in me a thirst to know more; and the growth in physical and emotional stature, as well.  I am so very grateful for my journey so far and for the formative and growing years that taught me to be strong, have faith, and to know love--both the giving and the getting of it.  I am grateful for these and so many more memories that encircle my life every day.