Conklin: Moving, moving, moving again

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Editor’s Note: This column is being re-printed due to production errors.

Moving, Moving, Moving, Moving, Moving again.We did it so often, we did it so soon, Do you remember where all we’ve been?

Different kitchens, different porches, different yards to play in, too. Different closets to put our stuff in. Did I share a room with you?

Boxes, crates, and sacks of shoes, were packed every couple of years. Then put on a truck and hauled away. Did you silently shed some tears?

Jars of green beans, tomatoes and juice, were carefully packed all day. Did you tell the teachers you were leaving? Or just get in the car and go away?

Moving, Moving, Moving, Moving, Moving again! Leaving our friends, leaving our schools. Does the memory hurt now, as much as then?

Different addresses to remember, Different neighbor kids to learn our name. Different places to play Hide and Seek in, Would it ever be the same?

Painting, papering and putting down rugs, So the houses could pass for our home. In time to start all over again. Did you ever get to be alone?

If you could choose just one house, One place that you could stay, Which one would you choose, And what would it mean for the life you have today?

I wrote the above words about all the moving that took place in our family when my siblings and I were growing up. Since we were all different ages during those moves, each move affected each of us differently. Recently I read that the word “perched” is used for families that move a lot.

Because of never knowing how long they will be in any new place, they never really commit to staying and don’t make friends or put down roots. They just “perch.” When we were in the process of moving from Delaware to Marion, our mom sprained her ankle while stepping off the one and only step of the back porch.

Her sprained ankle stopped the entire move, and changed the direction our lives were heading at that time. It meant that five of us got to remain in the Delaware city schools for three more years. My siblings and I broke the cycle of moving a lot when we each got married.

None of us moved an average of more than 3 times in our adult lives. In my case I had 14 different addresses in the first 21 years of my life, before I got married, and then had only one ever since. The following question is something to think about for anyone who has moved a lot in their past.

If you could choose just one house, one place that you could have stayed, which one would you choose, and what would it mean for the life you have today?

http://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2017/06/web1_Kay-Conklin-Portrait-1.jpg

Kay E. Conklin is a retired Delaware County recorder who served four terms. She graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a degree in sociology and anthropology.

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