Premium Street...

Every year... right around this time... it hits me. There's a certain combination of factors that brings it on though. That perfect blend. This time it was the cold, crisp morning air along with the 1987ish music they happened to be playing on KOST 103.5 FM on my drive to work. {NOSTALGIA}It's a funny feeling, that nostalgia. I felt happy, sad, young, old... all at once. One childhood memory led to the next memory which led to another memory... it was like one of those "choose your own fate" books I used to read as a kid. Each song they played on the radio took me right back to my days on Premium Street.

Winter mornings on Premium Street. always smelled like CHRISTMAS... I can't fully describe it... Can you believe that I can still hear the hum of the nearby freeway? My parents said that the previous owners of our house was an old couple who loved throwing dinner/dance parties. So the living room floor was done in gold speckled linoleum... which was great during the summer because our A/C never worked! My little brother and I would lay on that cold floor and watch our tv with the giant knob to change channels... it was GREAT. Haha! That gold speckled linoleum, by the way, went fabulously with the 70's burgundy shag carpet and the dark wood paneling! Gah-roooovy, baby! The kitchen and dining room were divided by a counter...  I don't know if my parents even know that I did this but I would write little notes underneath that wood counter... in pencil of course for fear that I'd get in trouble one day and would have to erase them. I remember writing, "Jane was here- July 1989" or "Smile" (with a an actual smiley face next to it)... always date-stamped. I'm sure that that underneath that counter was years of notes and messages that I'd written to God-knows who. When my parents sold that house a few years ago, I never got to look underneath that counter... I wish that I'd taken a photo... because along with those messages and dates were years of memories. Both happy and sad memories, but mostly happy...

Time really flies by... I know that everyone says it but it's so true. My memories of Premium St. made me want to really live every day and savor each moment. Not just for me but for Leyla. Mike & I get teased for having literally thousands of  photos of Leyla of her first 17 months of life (haha) but one day I want her to remember. I want her to remember our house on Pebblepath and all of the happy memories we'll share in it!

Here's a picture of me... probably around 1980... just a little older than Leyla is now: