Nothing gold can stay: A brief reflection on losing my childhood home
I grew up in a house that my father built. He and my grandfather cleared the land, dug the basement, laid the blocks and framed the walls. He did the plumbing (he was a plumber by trade), the electrical, the finish carpentry, the painting and pretty much every other thing that goes into building a house. That was in the late 1970s. I lived in that house until I left for college 33 years ago. All of my memories from childhood are in and around that house.
A few days ago they tore it down to extend the runway of a nearby airport. I’m not overly sentimental about it, but it’s always a little sad to see people, places or things that were an integral part of your life disappear. But it’s also a good reminder that our time here is finite. That people, places and things will pass away. That our opportunities are limited. That we shouldn’t wait. The whole situation reminds me of the Robert Frost poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Time, like the seasons, passes quickly. You only have a certain number of days left and each new day subtracts from fewer and fewer. Use those days – your life – wisely.
Be intentional,
Joe