My dad explained the news to me at the dinner table. "We are moving." He said softly. I was the last one to find out because he knew I would take it it he hardest. I felt my heart sink, it was so unexpected. I did not want to move, I had friends and a lifestyle that I would not be ale to have anywhere else! I lived on twenty- five acres with two ponds and as many animals as I wanted. I loved it out there, I could fish whenever I wanted, and there was so many good hiding spots for hide and go seek!

That night I sat in my room and cried. My brother tried to explain to me that it was the right thing to do and that mom and dad needed my help to find the perfect house. I didn't care though, I was not going to help them. I hoped that they would never find a house and we wouldn't be able to move. I lied awake thinking about some of the many memories that we shared at my house. We used to ride the four wheelers all over the place, mud ridding on weekends right after it rained was always the best. We had trails in the woods behind the house that my brothers and I got stuck in too many times to count. But that's why the house was so special to me. We had all grown up their and I wasn't ready to leave it all behind.

A girl named Abby lived on the same street as me, she was my best friend. We played together all the time. We used to ride the horses across the street together, sometimes the owner even let us feed them. My brothers used to hate it when she came over because we would always mess with all their stuff. She had a crush on one of them, so we were constantly bothering them. Our parents used to call us partners in crime, because we were always getting in trouble together.

The days after that just weren't the same because now I knew my time was limited. My mom cried with me when I told her that I wasn't going anywhere, they could move without me. It was ridiculous, I know. But that house meant everything to me. No one else seemed to care as much as I did which made me angry. It was their house too! I realized later it was because I was so much younger, I didn't understand the purpose of moving closer to town.

It wasn't until about a month later that my parents found a house. My brother picked me up from school, but didn't tell me she we were going. We drove into this neighborhood, and he pulled up to an unfamiliar house. I wasn't until I saw the sign that I knew what was going on. It was red, white, and blue and had the words FOR SALE written on it. I refused to get out of the car, I just wanted to go home. When my brother finally got me out, we walked into the house. It was hot, but it all felt so cold. The house was dark, and the countertops were an awful beige color. Looking around, everyone seemed so happy. Mom thought the house was perfect, and dad liked the neighborhood. So of course they bought it. To them, it seemed it was just a simple address change.

On March 14, 2006 we moved in. My mom let me pick my own room, I guess she thought that would make up for making me leave my real home. When I opened the door of my new room, the knob was different than the one in my old room. This room was empty. That on top of all of the other anger and sadness that was going through me made me cry. I just sat on the scratchy carpet against the wall and cried. That night I slept in my parents room because I was scared of what kind of people might live here.

The next morning my mom had a surprise for me. When I walked into the kitchen, my friend Abby was there. I was so excited to see her! She spent the day helping me move all of my stuff into my room, then we went exploring in my back yard. It was so foreign to the woods I was used to. But this backyard was nothing compared to my old one, this one is only one acre. That means no four wheelers and no pond, so basically no fun. The next day when she left, we both cried. She lives forty- five minutes away, so there would be no more of seeing each other everyday.

Just after I accepted the fact that we were not moving back home, we went on a vacation to Savannah, Georgia. When we came back, it started all over again. I cried that day and refused to sleep in my own bed. I just kept telling my mom I wanted to go back home, I could tell it was breaking her heart because there was nothing she could do about it. I was only eleven so being in a me house that wasn't where I grew up, was really hard on me. No one seemed to understand that I missed it so much because it was the only thing that I had known. My dad built that house with his bare hands. That's where I learned to ride my bike, lost my first tooth, and had my first birthday. All of that was gone. The memories that I would be reminded of all the time were no longer with me.

The day before Easter we went back to it, after many hours of begging my parents. I was hoping when we got there that I could convince them to move back. When I opened the door of the car, I had this sudden burst of joy. I ran out of the car right up to the front door and opened it with the key I still had on my hello kitty key chain. I was finally home, I walked through the house, and stopped at the pantry, where all of our heights were recorded. A smile came across my face, and I ran straight to my room. Though it was empty, I could still imagine where everything went. My crayon marks were still on the bright pink wall and the chocolate milk stain was still on the carpet.

I ran outside to the ponds. The sun was beating down on me and I member wanting to jump in so bad. But it was still a little cool outside, and the wind was blowing. After about two hours, dad said it was time to go. I began to cry, begging him to move back. I already knew we weren't going to, but it was worth a shot. He finally got me in the car, but let me stop at Abby's house before going to our new house. I knocked on her door and gave her a picture of us from when we were little. It was in a purple glittery frame that said "Best Friends" on it. We talked, but only for a minute because I had to go. She hugged me and then I left.

When we arrived at the new house, I was still sad, but it wasn't as bad because I realized that until my house sold, it was still mine. A few days later, I was outside playing with my dog when these three kids walked up to me. Their names were Courtney, Emma, and Timmy. Courtney had dirty blonde hair and was really skinny and tall. She was just about the prettiest person I had ever seen, she was twelve. Emma had short brown hair, and she was only ten. Timmy had blonde hair that almost covered his eyes, he was really short and skinny. We all played together for the rest of the day, and almost everyday after that for about a month. But then Emma moved, so there was only three of us. To this day Timmy is still one of my best friends. Now he is eighteen, and three inches taller than me. Abby and I are still really close. We see each other every few months. I still miss my old house and all of its memories, but I have made new memories.