At the beginning of this year while back in Western Kansas, Matt took me around to all of the old places he use to live as a kid. It was so interesting and fun getting to take a look into his past. He showed me all of the places in the area where he use to live, where he went to school, and where he hung out. Its fun getting to reminisce with him because his past is so special and he has the best stories to tell!
Here is Matt's take on the places and towns that have formed his life:
*This house is known as "the house on Hattie street" in Matt's family.*
This house is the first house that I have memories of. I had lived in others before this, but I was too little to remember. This house is in Garden City, Kansas. I remember living in this house while I went to kindergarten, so I was probably around 4 or 5 when I lived here. One of my most favorite memories here was when I was caught on tape telling everyone that I was going to pop a wheelie on my bike "higher than the house". And I am sure that I meant it. (I had been caught once with my bike on top of a car planning to ride down the car.) I believe that video is still floating around somewhere and I would love to see it again. My brother and I would also load my bike into a wagon and he would pull the wagon around with his bike while I was in the wagon "riding" my bike. Luckily for me, he was a good driver. It is neat how the mind works, how sometimes you can see something again, after a long absence and how memories about that begin to resurface. I also remember that we had rock in our front yard from the sidewalk to the street and below that was the black tarp paper to keep weeds from sprouting. I remember being told one time that the black tarp was actually the rooftops of the houses in China and that if we were to dig deep enough, we could reach China. I find that silly today, but it's amazing how a child's mind is so mold able that they will believe anything.
Gertrude Walker Elementary School is where I went to kindergarten. I hardly remember kindergarten but I do remember snack time there! Yes, I am certain that was the highlight of my school days back then. We did not live too far from the house, so I remember walking home from school a lot. I also remember that when I first started school, I was sad because that meant that I would miss my daily episode of Power Rangers. Thankfully, we had an older lady on our block who we considered to be our grandma. She would tape the show for me while I was at school and then I would come over to watch it when school was out.
Holcomb Elementary is not the next school I went to, just the next one that I have pictures of. I went to school here while I was in 3rd grade and some of 4th grade. By this point in my life, I had moved from Garden City to Minnesota and then back here to Holcomb, Kansas. (More pictures to come soon!) There was no shortage of moving for my family and I. At this point in my life, my parents were split up, so I lived with my biological mother for a while. But it wasn't long before I moved in with my dad and the rest of my siblings. There is a lot of amazing things that happened to my family and I at this point in our life.
This house above is where I lived with my dad before we moved to Healy. I have many fun memories there even though it was not the nicest of places. There was one time that the bed fell partway through the floor because we had about 5 people on the bed at once. I still laugh when I think of that.
*We found this sign by the house pictured above. We called Matt's brother to see if he had remembered it and he did remember that sign being there when he was little.*
This was the apartment complex I lived at in Holcomb with Tammy, my biological mother.
I don't think I can finish this post without first telling probably the single most important memory I had of all the houses listed. Now by this time my parents were not together anymore. My dad lived in the trailer house in Garden City with my brother and sister and he was dating the woman who soon became my one true mother. Technically, she is my step mom, but in the past 10 or more years that I have known her, I can never remember calling her that. To me, she has always been my mom and always will be. She is a pretty amazing person, mother, and grandma. As is my dad...and actually, he is the main character in this memory I am about to share. He truly changed my life and I can say that I would not be where I am today if it were not for him. I sort of pinpoint this memory as a turning point in my life, a time and place where my life took a complete turn toward God and my life as a Christian.
I honestly don't remember how old I was at this point, but I know I was in 3rd grade, so I was probably 8 or 9. I was living with Tammy, my biological mother, and as a 9 year old my life was great. I was able to play video games all day, I would get all kinds of new toys and gifts whenever I wanted, and I could do pretty much whatever I want. It was like a young kids dream. I was pretty oblivious, however, to the things that she was doing. I don't want to go on about all the stuff because I don't like dwelling on the negative, but I will say most of it was not legal. (I have faith that she is a different person today than she was back then, however, I have not spoken to her in many, many years.) Looking back on it now, I can see how she was bribing me with the toys and freedom because she knew how badly my dad wanted me to be living with him, and this was the only way to keep me with her.
My dad was the complete opposite of Tammy. There have been a few times that I have seen my dad really angry and upset, but I have always seen my dad as a man of God. My dad sat me down a few years back and talked to me about this memory and he told me that he prayed for me every day while I was living with Tammy and prayed that God would grant him the courage and strength to one day come and get me. Then one day, God told him to come and get me.
To this day I can close my eyes and still see my dad walking down the sidewalk toward the apartment. I was hiding behind the door for some reason and I was scared. I still wonder why I was scared, maybe because thoughts were put in my head that were not true. She told me to hide behind the door so I did. Then I heard a knock on the door. From that point on, things were a blur. What I remember most is my dad picking me up and literally throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to the car. I was reluctant at first, but I soon gave in. God has a way of granting people strength that they otherwise might not have. I know that day, God gave my dad the strength to come and get me. He gave him the strength to do whatever it took to get me out of that bad situation I was in. I had been so blinded by material good that I did not see what a terrible situation I was in. But my dad saved me.
It must have taken a lot of faith by my father to be able to sit there and see the terrible place I was in, yet be able to trust in God and know that God would tell him when it was the right time to step up and go to get me. I am so thankful for my dad for getting me out of that place because I cannot even imagine where I would be or what I would be doing if it were not for him. I probably would not have met my beautiful wife and have two amazing kids with one on the way. It is just completely unimaginable. I may not have been given the opportunity to go to church and become a christian. As bad of a memory as it could be, I think it is such a wonderful thing to remember to provide a light to what could be and where I am now.
This is just a touch of Matt's background. I asked him to share a brief story of his past so I can eventually make a book so our children can see where we came from. Even though there are a few more places that Matt has lived (pictures and descriptions to come) I wanted to go ahead and post what we have so far. I love him for who he is today, for what has shaped him, and there is no doubt that he wouldn't be who he is supposed to be without the places that he's been.
Xoxo,
Tanna
