Memories from Nonno's Home

Most people spend the majority of their childhood being baby sited by their grandparents. In my case I call them nonnos because it means grandpas in Italian and their house was like my second home. I spent there almost all of my day waiting for my parents to pick me up after their work. I really cannot complain about spending that much time with my grandparents, because, besides being the best nonnos I could ever ask for, their house was amazing; for me it was one of the coolest places on Earth! It was a very beautiful house situated in an incredible neighborhood. Everybody knew each other and they were all very kind.

From the street you could only see the big garage; I even remember the Rayo-Vac sticker that was pasted on the wall. But it was from the inside where the magic began! The inside was like a castle. It had this humongous lamp right at the center of the ceiling that made me feel like if I was entering Cinderella’s palace. It had a beautiful, elegant living room which was always full of my nonna’s funny friends. My nonna made me take my shoes off when I played there so the rough wouldn’t get ruin. The kitchen was simple but at the same time very clean and neat. There was always something delicious to eat cooked by the maid and nana Maria. I sat on the table and waited excited for my meal and I always finished it satisfied. There was a very special room, it was my favorite. From the outside you could see how shiny and elegant it was. You could see a lot of crystal objects in that room and they were brilliant! I felt like a princess in there, everything was just so delicate and sparkly.

One of the main rooms in the house was, obviously, my nonno’s bedroom. I still can feel the smell of my nonno’s cologne and the safe I felt when I watched movies with him in his sofa. My nonna says that I loved to wear her perfumes and put on her shoes. I guess I wanted to look as elegant and beautiful as she did. There was a little balcony that faced the yard. My parents and my uncles watched my cousins; my sister and I play and create our imaginary world. There was only one room I didn’t like in the house; the storage room, which was hidden behind the stairs. My older sister and I hated that room. It was very scary because it was dark and at the end you could see a Mona Lisa painting staring at you. We never visited that room.

As I was telling you before the neighbors that surrounded the house were all very kind. There was an old lady called Doña Lupe who had white her and a beautiful, warm smile that was my friends. I loved visiting her home with my nonna after we bought some candies on La Negrita store.

Times changed and everybody began to move to the modern areas of the city. After a while my nonnos decided that it was time to move here to Carretera al Salvador. I have the image of my nonna crying the day they moved but I didn’t understand why; I mean at least the idea of them being closer to us made me happy. Later I understood that I was never going to spend my days at Nonno’s place.

For the next few years I didn’t pay much attention to the change. I was happier than ever having all my family living close to me. One day my nonna asked me if I wanted to go with her to her old house to pick up the money from the rent the new owners have to pay. She hates when I say “your old house”. She says her previous home was my home as well and it is still as beautiful as ever. Well, that changed when we arrived. The neighborhood was empty like a dessert. When I enter the house I got scared. The house that once had been beautiful and elegant was now an office. An OFFICE! I could see all the computers in the room that once was my special, castle like, room. The living room was full of papers and boards and everything was just too noisy for me. As we were returning to the car I saw the beautiful lamp that was at the center of the ceiling broke. I felt weird it was a different sadness; maybe it wasn’t sadness; maybe it was anger! Yes, I was angry with those guys for destroying my home. Back in the car I asked my nonna what had happened, where were all my friends? She said they had moved to other neighborhoods. I asked were Doña Lupe was and she explained me she had passed away. I felt weird and at that time I didn’t know why. But now I know that I felt how a part of my childhood disappeared.

I have not visited that house since that day. I know it changed. Maybe I won´t find Doña Lupe sitting in her couch watching T.V. after going to the candy store. But I do have all the memories of my Nonno´s home, the house that was also my home.