FAREWELL HOME: We said goodbye to my childhood home yesterday. 

The residence on Latta Drive just east of Atlanta in the small town of Conyers, Georgia in Rockdale County, provided warmth and shelter for four generations, but memories for a lifetime. 

Yesterday, along with my extended family, we walked the now-empty property and shared stories. 

My grandfather built the house in 1968, and along with my grandmother, they lived there with their four children until the kids grew up and moved away in the 1970s. 

In the early 80s, my mom and dad purchased the home from her parents and so began my time there with my siblings. 

My mom and stepdad later welcomed grandkids, who played in the exact same spots as the generations before them did. 

It is time to move on, but the memories there run deep and many tangible, such as the Indiana stone fireplace and my grandfather’s initials and “1968” etched in the concrete of the carport. 

And my late uncle’s memorial tree presented to my mom by her then-work office a month after her brother’s passing. 

And my late aunt’s name written next to my mom’s name in a bedroom closet when they shared a room as little girls—something I’d somehow never seen or noticed until yesterday. 

Closing Day is officially just five days away later this week. 

I’m grateful for my time on Latta Drive—all the highs and even the lows. 

On behalf of my entire family, we pray the new family treasures this home as much as we always will.