I have vivid details of my grandparents house in St. Louis- who don’t live there anymore. I really only just recently realized i’ll never see that house again, so I thought I should write it all down while I still have the memories.
You walk in to see the tiny harp thing that I still don’t know the name of. Nora and I used to wait by the door and play it, but we had to use the wooden stick thing or else grandma would tell us that we shouldn’t touch the strings with our hands because grandpa made it. I remember playing songs like Mary had a little lamb and twinkle twinkle, which I think actually have the same exact tune.
Turn to the left and go into the room with bright green carpeting, old wallpaper, and the comfortable couch that I once spent a few hours throwing up on into the designating “throw up bowl” that uncle Art asked “who’s throwing up” when my mom got it out, I think it was the weird hot dog I had at the zoo. The little baby doll beds that Nora and I would play with with our cabbage patch dolls. We would fight over who got the crib because it was much cooler than the bed, you could even slide down the railing. The good smelling orb-bead things that I wasn’t supposed to stick my hands in but did anyways because it was fun.
The dining room conjoined with the living room, that was so cramped. The radiator that my mom said was used as a game when she was younger, her, her brother, and her sister would see who could sit on it the longest. The cabinets filled with glass items I knew I shouldn’t touch, but never looked at or wanted to anyways. The strange gate into he kitchen with drapes over it that grandma and mom told me not to jump over, but I did anyways because it was the shortest route. The swinging diner door that lead into the TV room that you could hear flipping back and forth after going through it.
The old couch and the chair that was grandpas favorite, but also my own, so we’d have to fight for it- I think it was also my dad’s favorite. It was a good comfy chair that you could sink into. The other couch that city kitty would hide under covered in cat hair. The small, too low coffee table with a built in chess board on top, though there were never any chess pieces. The TV that didn’t get any channels except PBS, we would watch FernGully on VHS 50 times a day I think.
The downstairs bathroom that was rubber duck themed. It was all ducks everywhere. The wall paper, the toilet cover, the little rug, and there were rubber ducks of all kind all over. A police and a firefighter, the only two I really remember.
The little breakfast room that was always crammed with stuff and books. Sitting there eating sandwiches that grandma made Nora and I, sometimes she would forget we don’t like mayo but that’s okay because we ate them anyways. The back door that slammed too hard when it snapped shut. The computer that I only used to play mahjong on because I didn’t know how to work the internet on it. Grandma’s basket collection that hung from the ceiling making the room look smaller than it really was.
The kitchen where grandma and grandpa would tell the dogs to get out and stop begging for food but they would stay. They would drink water and get the floors all wet. I always remember there never being any snacks except ice pops that we would eat on those hot St. Louis days after swimming with Mimi and Grace or Chip and Maya.
The back porch that was screened in but but filled with bugs anyways. The dusty hammock that dad or grandpa would sometimes take a nap in. It was always filled with different inner-tubes and floaty things for the pool.
The backyard where we would play with the dogs and run around, making sure the gate was closed so they wouldn’t run out the driveway. And on hot day we would get the pool out. It was made out of tin or something, about 2-3 ft deep, and only had a 4 ft radius. We still all managed to fit just fine. We’d fill it up with water from the hose that was ice cold but after a few hours in the beating sun it would be pretty warm. Sometimes the dogs joined us and it would get filled with grass and leaves. The swing set and garden in the way back that I never really went over to or used. Under the deck was covered with bricks, wood, and spiderwebs. The old stairs leading back up that you could always hear the dogs run up and bang on the door when they wanted to come back in.
Now going upstairs, the other set of stairs off the front room which again you could hear the dogs scramble up and down in the early morning to be let out.
First to the left is Chip’s old room, the bed that was best in the house, with the best quilt grandma ever made that is now of course at our house, it was where my parents slept when we visited. I always managed to wiggle my way in there every night because it felt safe. The old pictures of Chip in the mirror across from the bed. It was always so neat in there. The closet that I liked to keep closed because it scared me, something about it at night made it seem 100x darker than the rest of the room.
Maya’s old room- and my mom and Cathy’s as well- with the two pink and green twin beds with a TV across from them. Sometimes Nora and I would bring FernGully upstairs to watch it before bed. No air conditioning so the windows in that room were always open allowing a breeze to come through the room, making the white linen curtains sway. Hearing the loud cicadas at night lulled me to sleep, that was a staple memory of the time I spent in St. Louis. The mini shopping cart that used to be Maya’s but me and Nora were in love with because it was just so small. The strawberry toy chest that was filled with toys from Toy Story. The dog with the spring in the middle was the best, or maybe Mr. Potato head.
The hallway was always piled high with stuff from ceiling to floor. Sometimes if I couldn’t sleep i’d go get a book to read from the giant stacks.
The upstairs bathroom that was some kind of theme I still haven’t pinned down. Pink and green again, like the twin bedroom. I remember taking baths in the bathtub but needing help to turn on the faucet because it was confusing. Brushing our teeth together before bed and having to go onto the step stool to see myself in the mirror. The walls had handprints on them from my cousins and I. Me, Nora, Grace, Mimi, Chip, and Maya, and other names I didn’t know.
Grandmas sowing room that I only ever saw from outside, it was too messy and packed with stuff that I didn’t go inside. And the door always seemed to be shut if grandma wasn’t in there.
Then going into grandma and grandpas room was a big open space. The dogs slept in there every night and sometimes I would get to feed them a treat before they went to bed. Sometimes I would go in and check if they were asleep if I was up late and couldn’t sleep, which I never really could.
Then the front porch which was all concrete, with a metal chair set that was too small to be comfortable. We would sometimes pose for pictures on the front steps. And the plants leading up to the stairs, they were always the first things I saw when I arrived. After a long day in the car driving up, I would get out and see the house from the front, and with tired legs walk up the steps to go hug grandma and grandpa.
And of course there were other things I loved about being in St. Louis. The city museum, going down to the country, the nearby pool with the log and the frog to sit on, going to thanksgiving at Laurie’s house, never actually going up in the arch because the line was too long and it was too hot, the zoo, and other things.
I loved the time I got to spend there with my family.
I hope these memories are never forgotten.
Claire Ivey 