I don’t usually blog about my personal life; however, feeling a little nostalgic these days as my youngest leaves for college in a few days. Skip this post if you don’t want to read my rambling thoughts!

My two girls grew up in Brookside. We’ve had three Brookside addresses.  When we moved to our current home in Armour Hills, the kids were 12 and 8.  There was the same mix of families and older folks on the block then as there is now–except my husband and I are now the ‘older’ residents as new families have moved in.  Throughout the last ten years we walked to the park, to the Brookside shops; my girls each got their first jobs at small local Brookside businesses (The New Dime Store and Cosentino’s).  We took them to the Art Annual, the Farmer’s Market, trick or treating; we had block parties and yard sales and their schools were nearby. They rode bikes on the Trolley Track Trail, tee-peed the neighbors and sled down Suicide Hill on snow days. As I write these words  I see the five neighbor boys playing on a tire swing in their front yard across the street. Another generation growing up on the block…

My husband and I will soon be left with two empty bedrooms and a bathroom I won’t have to clean every week.  Will we end up leaving Brookside too?  Too early to tell and honestly, I  can’t imagine that as I grew up, just like my daughters, in a St Louis neighborhood just like Brookside.

Even though the girls aren’t living here anymore, they will still “come home to Brookside”. This community, the experiences, the memories  helped shape their personalities.  I know they will always love Brookside as much as I do.