My childhood was one that many kids in our neighborhood envied. Aside from being a very happy family, my parents sent us to very good and expensive schools, provided us with all the material things available and instilled in us very strong values. I grew up in the house which is one of the houses that my father built as head of the construction department of the company he worked for. It sat in a 1000 square meter lot. It was surrounded with a lot of beautiful trees and flowering plants. At the far end of the house, we had a 2 room playhouse and in the middle of the big well maintained grass yard were the big swing and seesaw. Because of these amenities, almost all the kids in our immediate neighborhood spent their growing up years playing with us. My parents became hosts to a lot of big parties because the house had a very big and spacious living room, three big bedrooms, a big family room, a big veranda, a study room, a breakfast nook, a big dining room and kitchen. It also had the maid's quarter, the laundry room and the garage at the 1st floor level. All of these beautiful memories including the beautiful house were sadly left behind when we had to transfer to Manila after my daddy's retirement in 1971.
28 years later, my brother had a chance to visit the house again and he fortunately was able to take photos of it. He recently shared them with me and I was deeply saddened by the condition it is in now. The fence is rusty and the lamp post and beautiful plants that grew beside the impressive front gate are gone. They are replaced by trees that are not well maintained and wild plants. The entire house is so worn out and looks like it has not been painted in years. The back and side of the house have a variety of plants and trees in the lawn that have not been trimmed. The beautiful pine trees and the rows of flowering plants are gone. Gone too are the playhouse, the big swing and seesaw.
According to my brother, he felt bad seeing the outside of the house but he felt more sad when he saw the inside. He even cried when he stepped into the living room up to the kitchen areas. He could not understand how the new tenants have allowed all the beautiful things inside to deteriorate. Here are some of the shots he took during that visit.
