Grandpa's House
When I was young, almost every Sunday was a trip to Grandpa's house. Now, though we were tremendously spoiled at Grandpa's house, I didn't find this extremely appealing. For me, going to Grandpa's house meant one thing and one thing only. Grandpa's house meant peeling me away from my Sunday morning cartoons and to my five year old self, that didn't sit very well with me.
Though I was reluctant to hop into the car and threw bratty tantrums along the way, the moment we arrived at Grandpa's house, I found myself fumbling to get out of my safety seat and gleefully ran inside. You see, it wasn't that we were just there to see Grandpa, we were there to see everyone. For my family, Grandpa's house was central hub for family gatherings. It was always special to me because at five years old, before I knew the trajectory of my life and at the height of my innocence, it represented something concrete. Before the advent of emails, cellphones, facebook, AIM and gasp.... internet, we knew, without a sliver of a doubt, that if we found our way to Grandpa's house, we would find everyone. It was at this juncture that I had some of my fondest memories: squeezing all of us kids onto the cargo cart to be pushed and spun around, playing hide-n-seek in the backyard and side house until our parents beckoned us in for dinner, and gathering around in the living room and inventing our own card games because we didn't know any. To me, this was the quintessence of innocence and I absolutely treasure it.
Two decades later, though much has changed, the essence remains the same. Although I find myself driving to Grandpa's house, we communicate predominantly via email, and we've replaced card games with mobile devices, Grandpa's house still remains Grandpa's house. For several days out of the year, when we pass through our familial hub, we'll be sure to see everyone again.
*Note: pictures can be downloaded by right clicking on the picture rather than the thumbnail. Enjoy! I would also like to give a special thanks to my two younger cousins, Yvonne and Sharon, for helping take the majority of these pictures. This was truly a family effort
Location: With family
Gear: D90, 24 2.8, SB-600
DCHU Photography
