Childhood Memories vs. Grown-Up Realities

I went to New Mexico March 1st-7th. My mom bought an airline ticket for me for my birthday, since she was going to visit family, and we took Alexandra. We had a great time; I hadn't been there since my great-grandmother died nine years ago.

It's interesting going back to some place you haven't been to since you were a kid. It makes you realize how much of memory and reality and even how you feel about things are based in childhood experiences. For example...

We spent most of the time in Las Cruces proper, at Mrs. Naul's house and at my grandma's house. (My mom lived with Mrs. Naul when she was in college, and Mrs. Naul had a huge impact on my mom's life and spiritual growth.) Since I am now an adult and was able to do some of the driving, I got to know parts of the city I had never really seen before. But I didn't quite feel like I had "gone home" until I got to see my mom's dad and stepmom. I realized it's because as a kid, most of the time I spent in Las Cruces was spent at their house, which was actually outside the city. It was on a large piece of property that included a rose garden and small orchard at the front and a junkyard at the back, since my grandpa was an appliance repair man and a collector of pieces and miscellany (<--these are what the thesaurus is giving me as nicer-sounding ways to say junk). With all that room and a variety of old broken-down cars, trailers, washing machines/dryers/refrigerators to play around (and in the case of the cars, in), it was a kid's paradise.

That's where I spent many Christmases and a few other holidays. That's where I played with my brothers and cousins and built statues out of old appliance parts. That's where my grandma made us countless delicious meals and desserts. That's where I spent time in the wind and dust and intense sunshine. And since technically my grandparents lived in Las Cruces, that's what I always thought of when I thought of Las Cruces.

So it was weird going back and discovering that most of Las Cruces isn't at all the image that I held in my mind for so long. And going back as an adult with my mom also reminded me that she has an entirely different image of the city. She grew up in the city; since she lived there in college, Mrs. Naul's house is like going home for her. My grandpa and step-grandma didn't get married until she was an adult, so their house isn't going home for her.

This is probably super obvious for anyone outside the family, but it was weird being confronted with the difference between my childhood idea of Las Cruces and what reality is.