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TRACES<br />
4 Simmons Crescent, Barrie<br />
You could say the <strong>home</strong>s we live in remember us, as much as<br />
we remember them.<br />
With every meal we share, every picture we put up, every<br />
memory we create, we leave traces.<br />
For Ed and Wendy, they were finding those traces at the<br />
house on Simmons Crescent be<strong>for</strong>e it was even standing.<br />
“We had it built in 1993...<strong>for</strong> 2 and a half months I came up<br />
every day after work to supervise the construction” Ed recalls,<br />
as we gather around the table in the big dining room.<br />
Traces of their family's story are scattered warmly throughout<br />
the spacious <strong>home</strong>...on the fireplace mantle; where pictures<br />
and heirlooms sat, stretching all the way back to the couple's<br />
first date at the legendary El Macambo in Toronto.<br />
Reminders of the day they brought their daughter Lauren<br />
<strong>home</strong> to find a Stork on the lawn, placed there as a surprise<br />
by a friend.<br />
And of the bike parades the neighbourhood kids would participate<br />
in the summer, when Wendy and the other parents would<br />
congregate on the quiet street to serve as judges awarding<br />
prizes <strong>for</strong> best costume.<br />
More traces linger in the backyard. Like a calendar reflecting the<br />
family's story, the corner of the fenced yard housed a swing set<br />
when they first moved in. Today, with Lauren living in her own<br />
<strong>home</strong> and the bike parades not as common, the corner reveals<br />
a fire pit; a quiet spot to enjoy the summer evenings.<br />
It will be odd to leave this <strong>home</strong>, the couple admit. It was an<br />
ideal place to host holiday dinners or Wendy's book club, and a<br />
welcome sight to return after the many work related road trips<br />
Ed undertook over the years. About 2 million miles logged on<br />
the highways, he estimates.<br />
2 million miles. 23 years.<br />
4 Simmons Crescent in Barrie has many more traces to yield.<br />
What will this <strong>home</strong> remember about you?<br />
Or of the September mornings when Lauren would join the<br />
neighbourhood kids on their 3 minute group walk to the first<br />
day of school.