It’s not the house. It’s the home.

Luck and location.

That’s how I wound up with two of my absolute lifelong best friends.

I’m writing this post today, as I’m celebrating one of those friends from a distance(Cheerio Linds!) who has a birthday today (and is across the pond) and my other friend (Hey Crim!) who had a birthday on the 13th, in person outdoors tomorrow with her!

I’ve known Lindsey (Linds) for nearly my entire life. We became neighbors in 1995 and well, the rest is history. Linds has a little brother, Chris, who’s a couple years younger than I am, but we tried our best to keep up with Linds and B and the rest of the neighborhood kids. Apple Lane will forever hold a spot in my heart.

I have memories of boycotting the move when our parents announced in 1999 that we were moving a couple of miles across town (which was a very small town) but then came Winslow Road and the Crimmins.

The Crimmins were just one of a few welcoming families in our new neighborhood. But they were the ones that my brother, Brady (B), and I clicked most with. #WinslowKidzRule

Crim, like Linds, is in B’s grade – so they also have their own friendships. But mostly, we ran like a pack. I’d follow them around all day long in the neighborhoods and we’d pretty much all do everything together (when possible). Along with Crim is her sweet “little” sister, Melissa, who is one year below me. Melissa is also one of my dearest friends, and when we all get together, it’s as if we’re simply meeting outside between houses again. The same can be said for any combination of an Apple Hill Lane reunion. I absolutely love that.

I’m a sucker for all things nostalgia and so, that’s partially why I decided to write this post today. Mainly it’s to wish two of my best friends a happy birthday. But it’s also to try and put in to words how lucky I feel that somehow I wound up living on the same street as two phenomenal women, that many moons later are still a constant in my life.

And when you spend this much time as someone’s friend, it’s not just them. You become intertwined with their families.

Mrs. Sowa taught me my phone number, amongst a million other things. She also made some of the best waffles if I recall correctly. It was either the waffles or me trying to delay heading off to school (foreshadowing? keep reading). Mr. Sowa can literally fix or build anything and most recently, went out of his way to pitch in a pop up tent to insure my brothers rehearsal dinner could go on this summer (it poured buckets – so clutch would be an understatement). And Chris, well there’s a lot to say about being the littlest one in the group. But I’ll just leave it at – video scene – lol.

Mrs. Crimmins, aside from still knowing her license plate by heart, had the unique pleasure of “hanging out with me” LOL, the day I decided to protest going to school. I’ll never forget how sweet she was to me that morning in fifth grade (in which she thought she simply agreed to make sure Brady and I got on the bus when my parents were at an appointment) when I threw that curveball. Mr. Crimmins reminds me of my own dad a bit, he seems “quiet” but once you know him he certainly isn’t shy.

I really enjoyed those days spent popping in and out of their house (always the place to go for the most accurate weather forecast) and the occasional trip to their beloved Island. Kevin, their older brother, who shared a grade with my other brother, Ryan, had the pleasure of being taunted by us frequently. A bit quieter and, like Ry, too “old/cool” to hang with B, Crim, Mel, and I all the time. But on occasion he’d join us outdoors or for a video game.

I recently dug up an old essay from my memory box (unclear if I made it up or if it’s based in facts – will confirm via Crimmins) that discussed an epic snowball fight on Winslow. In it was not only us four, but Ryan, Kevin, and two other neighborhood families (hey May’s and Dinneens!). The fight ended a bit abruptly when Melissa sprained her ankle and had to go to the doctor. To say those days in that neighborhood were eventful would be an absolute understatement. Winslow kids really do rule.

I’ve always found it so ironic that the Linds and Crim are born so close to each other (if I’m remembering I think they were in the same birth announcement- fact check?). I actually struggled for the bulk of my friendship with the two of them to remember who’s birthday was who’s. But I finally got it down!

It helps that I’ve since then gained another friend (yet another Sarah!) who also shares a birthday with Linds. So now I can remember a bit easier. HBD Sarah!! You da best.

Okay back to the story.

But before we continue with the birthday ladies, I have to mention another dear neighbor of mine. Sup, Ben! Now if I really want to get nostalgic, I throw it back to Wright Lane. Of which I recall about 10% of. I was only a little tike at the time we briefly rented a home on the street, while my parents continued to look for a house in our new town – but Ben stuck around even once we moved.

Ben’s family moved across the way from us while we were already renting. Poor Ben, I don’t think we let him off the hook once since this happened – but an all time favorite neighbor story features Ben.

My Ma tells it best. It’s what she opens with when telling someone how much she adores Ben. It must have been about 1994 when Ben came knocking one day to see if Brady and/or I (likely Brady which meant I’d try my very best to tag along) could hangout. He was super disappointed when MB met him at the door and said we unfortunately couldn’t play just yet (I believe we were cleaning, hence the loud music). As the version we tell goes, Ben was then so upset that he came back and told my Mom that the music was way too loud!!! Whatever the real story was, it’s hilarious.

Like my other neighbors, Ben’s family became intertwined with mine. His mom was on the top of our list when we needed someone to pick us up sick from school when our parents were out of town. She always was and still remains one of my moms favorite women to walk along the coastal streets of Duxbury with. I’m not sure there’s a more gentle, soft spoken, and kinder woman around. Ben’s Dad, Uncle Bug!, is also a great guy. He and my dad took Ben, B, and I camping one year (still to this day the only time I’ve ever been camping). We spent the beginning portion of it on an exit ramp with a flat on a boat trailer, but that didn’t stop us from having the time of our lives.

And like the others, Ben had a sibling. Like Ry and Kev, Sara was a couple of years older. But she was never too cool to attend (with a smile on her face!) my birthday parties (as seen in memory box photos) and greet me with a genuine friendly smile every time I saw her. I’m hoping Sara knows by now, but I started following her on Twitter a few years back, and she continues to be one of the soundest voices I hear on there.

I could write a book on the stories filled between chapters. Wright Lane would be the shortest one. Then Apple Hill Lane which would be a bit lengthier but heavily relying on my imagination and or memory box content. Winslow would be the easiest to recall but could use an entire separate book. I lived there from 1999-2012. Not only the lengthiest but certainly the most formative years of my life. Hell, there’s a reason I’ve pegged the name Winslow (fairly recently, as I announced to Crim when she came over a couple weeks ago) for my next dog. And there’s a reason I have a Zillow alert set for the house if it ever gets listed. (Hey current owner – I see you. Let me know when!)

As I write this though, not only am I realizing this post has turned into something completely different than I intended (guess that’s how writing freely goes?) on but I’m realizing there’s really nothing there at that house I need that I didn’t take with me. That Zillow alert, will remain in place, but I don’t have that urge to hurry back and get back that house, that I once convinced myself was the important part.

Different than I intended, because this was meant to highlight the fact that it’s Linds and Crim’s birthday and how lucky I am to have them.

But here I am, reflecting and or realizing that sure, luck and location may land you on a street with two of your future life long best friends. The secret is – just because you move, doesn’t mean it’s all left behind.

A house is simply a house. A home of course is what fills the house. My home was and always will be my parents and family and a whole lot of love. But there’s no home without friends.

How lucky am I that my house, became a home, on a street surrounded by such wonderful people – two of whom not only share a birth date but a spot on my best friend list (Yes, it exists. I urge everyone to make one. Then treat your list like gold. Invest in your loved ones.).

Ben, Linds, and Crim as well as their families are all featured in my memory one way or another. Some tangible (memory box filled with photos, journal entries and stories from pre school up) some not (memory filled with stories, images, and lots of entries) but all near and dear to my heart.

The best gift my parents ever gave me was not only my home but that memory box. It’s an endless supply of nostalgia. The the second I start digging around in it, I’m flooded with that same youthful spirit and an immense sense of joy.

What’s in your memory box? It’s never too late to start one.  I ordered a little box to keep in my apartment (when I don’t have my other one out from storage and wide open for digging, rare these days) which I continue to add to.

So Linds and Crim. This was my absolute longest winded way of saying: clearly you two continue to inspire me. Even if that means simply writing a 20 minute blog about my neighborhoods. I’ll be the luckiest lady around if I continue to celebrate (even though I occasionally get confused) when May 13th and 15th come around each year. Life’s better with you both!

And to everyone else that once filled, continues to filled, or simply stopped by my home one time or another, I see you – and I appreciate you.

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