The Log Cabin As I Remembered

“It had been 24 years since she’d last seen it. But the place looked exactly the same.” When I was about two, my dad began working for a lumber company, which was exciting to him, because it was a good-paying job, and being a family of five, the job came in handy. My dad had always wanted to build a home for his family. He wanted his family to have their own home, something that they could treasure for years to come. He wanted this home to be a log cabin, a real eye-catcher! With enough room to accommodate his wife, 2 boys, a girl, and himself. So the cabin had to be big and spacious. Each member of the family had a share of how they wanted the cabin to be built. Starting with mom. “She said, “Make sure the cabin was in an area that captured plenty of sunlight so that we don’t have to use much electrical lighting.” She also said, “Please put a bathroom in our room, so that we will have our own bathroom, and the kids will have their own.”

I wanted a big room, so all of my toys would fit in it. The boys wanted a big room so they could have bunk-beds in their room so they each would have their own bed, with separate closets, because they were tired of their clothes getting mixed up. Dad wanted an office area because he and a friend wanted to start their own lumber business. So the lumber company was good for dad’s soul, not only did he work there, but he could also get the wood he needed at great discount prices and a lot of times for little to nothing! Dad had it made in the shade, especially now, since he wanted to build his own home. Dad sat down, wrote down how he wanted everything to be in the log cabin. He took his floor plans to an associate he had been knowing for a while, who was an Architect, he drew out every detail of the cabin. Soon as fall came, dad and a few of his friends began building on the cabin. This was something dad had been dreaming about for a while, having a log cabin home of his own for him and his family. So he finally decided to make his dream become a reality. He and his friends worked all of Fall and part of Winter, day in and day out until the cabin was complete. 

Dad even had a playground put in the back yard so that my brothers and I would have lots of fun, we had a swing set, a sliding board, monkey bars, etc. We even had a patio, a bar-b-que pit, and a pool! Yes, dad made our lives enjoyable. Dad waited until winter was over, before moving into the cabin. At this time, I was four, my two brothers, Jack and Tom were 6 and 8. Soon Springtime arrived, we were so excited to move into our new home which was about 25 miles from our old apartment. My brothers were a little upset because they were leaving their friends behind, and their school mates. But they were still excited to be moving into our new home. When we got to the cabin, we could hardly wait to get out of the car, so we could see our new home! Dad opened the door, we went inside and my mom gasped for air, the cabin was breath taken! It was big and beautiful! My dad and his friends really outdid themselves. My brothers and I began running through the house checking everything out. My room was big, yes, big enough for me and all of my toys! My brothers’ room was big, with bunk beds and separate closets, and big enough for all of their toys as well. Mom and dad’s room was the biggest because they had a bathroom in their room. Dad had an extra room for starting his lumber business. There was also a laundry room with a new washer and dryer. Our old apartment didn’t have enough room for a washer and dryer, mom and dad went to the laundry room to wash our clothes. Soon as we finished checking out the inside of the cabin, my brothers and I began to play outside on our new playground. We had lots of fun! Mom and dad smiled as we played and played.

I soon began school, and it was exciting because I was able to be around girls my age. Being in school was fun, I learned a lot of new things. I became good friends with two of the girls in my classroom. One was named Sarah, she had short red hair like mine, and the other was named Julie, she had blonde hair that was shoulder length. We became very close. My brothers also made new friends at school as well, Jack became friends with Ted and Steven, and Tom became friends with John and Roy. At times we would invite our new friends over to spend time with us at our home and at times they would invite us to hang out at their homes. My mom became friends with Sarah’s mom and Julie’s mom. Dad became friends with Roy’s dad because he too was into the lumber business, and dad learned a lot from him. John didn’t have a dad, he left when John was about one. But through the years we all became like one big happy family. As we got older, we would play board games as a family, our two favorite games were Monopoly and Scrabble. We also enjoyed as a family, a game called Twister we would play those games for hours! We would invite all of our friends over, and even their parents would join in and play other games like charades, cards, sing karaoke, etc. We would get into teams, and my dad would always say, “May the best team win.” But for some strange reason, John would always choose to be on my team. I asked Sarah and Julie, “Do y’all notice that every team I choose to be on, John also chooses the same team. Julie said, “You didn’t know that John has a crush on you?” Sarah said, “Why do you think he is always speaking to you at school?” “Hey Stacey,” “bye Stacey,” “see you later Stacey.” Yes, he has a big crush on you,” said Sarah. “No, I just thought he was doing that because I’m Tom’s sister, and he comes over to the house quite a bit.” Julie and Sarah laughed and said, “That’s Why.” At that time, I was 14 and John was 16, but I was not interested in John, not even a little bit. Even though he was a well-mannered and thoughtful guy, he was just not my type, I just saw him as Tom’s friend and nothing more. My family also enjoyed going bowling and rock climbing and even going on picnics. My family and friends were hardly ever bored.

With the help of Roy’s father, my father and his friend were able to start their lumber business, it was called, (M-&-M Lumber) which stood for our last name Madison, and his friend’s last name Maxwell. The company did very well, dad gained a lot of business from national and international construction sites. He took very good care of us, we never went lacking for anything. My oldest brother Jack had gone off to college, which was Spelman University. He majored in Economics. He also worked part-time in Accounting. Jack would come home from time to time to visit his family and friends. We enjoyed that quality time with family and friends for many years. Soon everyone had left home, Tom also went to Spelman University he majored in Medicine. As for me, Sarah and Julie, we went to The Juilliard School of Dance and Drama. Julie and I majored in Dance. Sarah majored in Drama. Jack and Steven still keep in touch, as for Ted, I don’t know much about what’s going on with him. Tom and Roy still keep in touch, as for John, I heard he was accepted at Notre Dame. 

After college, I met a man Named Lest Roberts. We dated for a while, I fell hard for him, and I thought that he felt the same way, but I was wrong. He said, “He liked me, and he enjoyed the times we spent together, but as for marriage, he has no intentions of getting married to anyone.” So this told me that he was the love them and leave them kind of guy. I told him, “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I’m not the one.” So I said my goodbye, and I wished him the best, I haven’t seen or heard from him since then. As for Jack and Tom, they are both married and doing good. Jack said, “He and his wife are working on starting a family.” Tom said, “He and his wife wanted to wait a little while longer before starting a family. As for me, I’m still waiting on that special someone who does want to settle down and get married. Because I'm tired of Just dating, I want a family of my own. Even my two best friends are married. I know he’s out there somewhere, I just don’t know where. As for my mom and dad, they are still together, still going strong, they are older now, and they have downsized, because the cabin was pretty big for just the two of them. So my dad decided that since all of us have our own homes, and live in different cities, that he and my mom would just sell the cabin to a family that would love and cherish that home as much as we did. 

A couple of years went by, and dad sold the cabin, he got a pretty penny from selling that cabin! But I knew he would because that log cabin was a real eye-catcher! One day while visiting my parents, I remembered this ice cream parlor, that sold the best ice cream, I stopped by to get some ice cream, I purchased a two-scoop chocolate mint ice cream cone. But when I got to the counter, my wallet was not in my purse, I told the clerk, I had to go to my car and get my wallet, just then a voice said, “I’ll pay for it.” As I turned to thank the person, It was my brother’s friend John, I said, “John,” He said, “Hey Stacey,” with a smile on his face. “How have you been?” He asked. I said, “I’m good.” “What about you?” He said, “I been doing good.” We talked for a good Lil while, So I headed back to my parents’ house, and my parents’ and I sat out on the back porch and we talked about old times. It was really nice spending quality time with them. About 5 years later, my dad became very ill, and sadly passed away, he was 71. About 3 years later my mother also passed away, she was 69. As I think back on our childhood life, I can honestly say, we had some wonderful parents and a great childhood with so many memories! My brothers and I have a great bond, we visit one another often. I’m a proud Aunt of 2 nieces and 2 nephews. Jack and Tom both have a son and a daughter. One morning I woke up, thinking about the cabin we grew up in, and I decided to take a drive, just to see it for old times sake. As I drove up and saw the home that my dad and his friends built, I smiled, it was like old times. I got out of the car, went and knocked on the door, a young woman came to the door, I said, “Hi my name is Stacey Madison-Watson, my dad was Harvey Madison.” The young woman said, “Yes, He was the one who sold this home to me and my husband.” She said, “Please, come in.” As I entered the home, I gasped for air, because it was exactly the way I remembered it. The structure was still beautiful. I asked did she have any children, she said, “Yes, we have three, 2 girls, ages 8 and 10 and a boy 5.” She said, “My family and I love this cabin. I said, “We did too.” 

I asked, “If I could have a look around.” She said, “Sure, I’d be glad to show you around.” As we walked through the house those memories started rushing back into my mind. Even the playground, patio, and pool were still the same. I gave the young woman a big hug and thanked her for her hospitality. When I got back in the car, John asked, “Well, is the house the way you remembered. I said, “Yes, exactly the same as I remembered.” He then said, “Our daughter called and said, “Her and brothers are coming for a visit.” Stacey then said, “Great, our kids are coming home, I can’t wait to see them!” As they were driving off, Stacey said, “You know what John, I’m just glad another family is enjoying that house as much as we did, and that was all that mattered.”