Goodbye vacant lot. Thank you for being a mini-wilderness in the middle of suburbia and a blank tablet to let our imaginations run free. You were a place where we could safely escape our parents for a day and vice versa. Far enough away from our TVs and our basements, but close enough to hear our parents whistle at dusk.
Tree forts, treasure hunting, bike loop, imaginary horse stable and grass dump are just a few of the things you offered. I can still hear twigs snapping under our little feet as we explored and always found something new within your tiny forest. Looking back, our weekends and summer days were filled with stories that maybe only a Shel Siverstein poem could properly capture.
We are all grown up and very far away now and whether you meant to our not, you contributed to our character and who we are today. I can't help but feel a little sorry for the current and future children of Picture and Challen. Do they know what they're losing?
For 30-35 years you have sat untouched by builders and bricks. Now, after all this time, someone is ripping you down on a cold, snowy February day in Pittsburgh.
What will you become? A modern home amidst the 70's architecture of your neighbors? Whatever it is, you are providing a blank slate and a dream for some new family and in that sense you are truly a Giving Lot.
- Posted from my iPhone
I remember a little Kari coming home for dinner from "the woods" and saying "I'll bet you didn't know where I was. I was far away." So close to me and yet so far away in your imagination! This August I got to take Gabriella to "the woods," I just wish I could do the same for Ayla and Gavin.
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