staircase

 

my grandparents lived in a two story home

the bedrooms are upstairs and the living areas are downstairs

to use the bathroom you had to go outside the bedroom doors on the top floor

down these steps and into the main door on the first floor

 

the steps are marble

marble!

 

I remember the sound the bedroom doors made as they opened

the feeling of my bare feet on the cold, slippery steps

the plaster wall that was chipped a little then and now a lot

and sitting on the landing

 

as a young child

as a teen

as a newlywed

as a mother

 

this past summer may very well have been the last time I will sit on those steps

even though I've visited my grandparents maybe 7x in my lifetime

those steps are one of my favorite places in the world