A Trip Down Memory Lane

As I was driving to work this morning, I ended up behind a black Kia SUV. Sitting at a stoplight, I noticed the license plate holder was from a dealer in Berwyn. And that, my readers, led me on a trip down memory lane.

You see, my maternal grandparents lived in Berwyn. I can still picture their house and the small rooms. The front room where the tv was in front of a fireplace that was never used. The back bedroom where I would sleep when I stayed over at their house. The dining room where many holidays were enjoyed. The attic where we would go on Christmas Eve and then Santa would magically appear. The stairs were so steep! And there was no bathroom, so when we stayed overnight (as older kiddos), so it was a long trip down. The basement where we helped with laundry and then headed out to the backyard to play.

But what I really remember, were the walks with my grandpa to pick up the pizza from Salerno’s. We often did this when we visited and I always loved going. We would go out through the back door, and head into the alley to begin the short walk. It was only a few minutes, but I loved spending time with my grandpa. Sometimes, we would even stop at the park that was close to the pizza place. After walking into Salerno’s, the smell of pizza would waft to our noises as we were able to get our pizza to carry home. That smell of pizza stayed with us as journeyed home to share a meal with the rest of our family.

It is amazing to me how something as simple as a license plate can trigger such a specific memory!