1440 Bear Flag Drive, which is located in the suburban town of Hanover Park, Illinois, is a very significant address to me since I lived in there until I was eleven years old. It was an old town home that housed four different families. It was painted a lime green color, and the weather was taking its toll and making the paint chip off slightly. There were about eight steps leading up to the entrance. The lawn looked awful because there was barely any grass and where there was it was crab grass. Our house always seemed to be as if it was on a hill. There was absolutely no landscaping, and we never trimmed our bushes or even bothered to plant any flowers. A humungous old tree that stood in front of our house covered almost half of it. We had a beautiful black storm door that was intricately designed. To match it, we had a black mailbox that was barely stuck to the house. In place of the doorbell, there were a bunch of wires that at one point in time used to power it. To the right of the wires, navy blue horizontal blinds covered the windows. Since my sisters and I were young at the time, there was always children running and riding their bikes around the house. The house was about a block away from the Shell gas station that we often walked to in order to buy candy. The majority of my childhood memories are held in that house.
My family and I moved from that house about five years ago, and seeing how it has changed since I lived there is astonishing. Now, there are four new families living in the town home. The house is now painted with a fresh coat of cream paint. There are still eight concrete steps leading up to the entrance of the house. As opposed to before, the lawn is filled with rich green grass and looks beautiful. I guess there is one thing about the house that will never change; it will always look like it is on a hill. Now, there are flowers planted in front of the house below the window, surrounded by sparkling white gravel, which is enclosed with red bricks. The huge old tree that once covered half of our house is now gone. The storm door is now bordered with cream and the center is clear glass. There is a very elegant gold-colored mailbox that is securely stuck to the right of the door. Instead of the wires, there is now a functioning doorbell in place. At the moment, cream vertical blinds cover the big windows. Nowadays, there are not many kids running around the house since an older couple moved in.
I believe that my childhood home was placed in good hands. Everything about the house has been changed for the better, although sometimes I feel as if some of my memories have been stripped away. Nevertheless, I hope the new owners and owners to come will share as many wonderful memories in that house as I did.