Leaving our old house of 25-years last week, was quite a melancholy experience. It’d been a good house and has survived earthquakes and teenagers since it’s construction in 1942.

In addition to Amy’s and Stephanie’s articles about taking pictures of every phase of your kid’s life, your home (or homes) that you’ve lived in can bring back many cherished memories.

This being our first house, and the house where my son was born and grew up (he’s now off at Yale growing up even more), it holds many stories.

The Popeye and Sweetpea that were painted larger-than-life on his bedroom wall are long gone, and the goo from his “slime” that he tried to bounce off the living room ceiling are gone too.

The building-blocks, baseballs, G.I. Joe action figures and vehicles have all been picked up and put away.

Bats, mitts, and a dozen of the hottest bats of the season have been retired.

The fresh concrete where he carved his initials will still be there for the new owners to puzzle about..”Who was this?” “What are they doing now?” they might ask.

The bikes and the battery-powered race-cars that propelled him through the universe have long since been parked, but all the memories will live on in our minds and in the pictures we took the time to take.

So long, Old Friend, you were a good house in a great neighborhood.