One of the first things I liked about the home we purchased 30 years ago was the driveway. It was simple single entrance that widened near the house and then back to a single lane right against the home. I bet I could fit 8-9 cars in it. Well maybe 8 back then because it was a gravel driveway.

Well to be more accurate it was a dirt and gravel drive. But the former owner had this old rusted basketball hoop at the end of it. So before I walked in the house I was partially sold. My parents first home started with a gravel driveway also. And after a lot of years and hard work it got paved. And just like Mom and Dad, after years of hard work we got ours paved.

But there is many fond memories of trying to shovel a big driveway without shoveling out all the gravel while you’re doing it. It’s a fine art indeed. And playing basketball on a gravel driveway was always entertaining and many family games also came along with a few scraped hands or knees. If not a groin injury from sliding trying to plant your foot quickly.

I have no idea why I started to ramble on about the driveway except for looking at the corners and lip along the hill that had gotten a few cracks in it this winter. I put it on my list of things to fix for my better half so she doesn’t have to worry about it in the future.

I think we were one of the last ones in the neighborhood to get the drive paved. Believe me, I wasn’t holding out intentionally by any means. Walking out to get the mail in bare feet could be painful at times. You always seemed to have stones in your tires. In huge rains there would be some washout. But it reminded me of home the first time I saw it.

The driveway is one of my favorite spots. Its pulling in from a long days work and that utter relaxation of being home after turning off the ignition from that long drive. It’s where my better half parks her baby. It’s where our children first peddled their bikes. It’s where many a basketball game was played either against family/friends or in my fantasy one on ones with many NBA greats.

Its where my children first left the nest in the family car. It’s the spot I’ll walk out to after a warm summer rain and let my feet marinate in a puddle. It’s a place for the yards of mulch we get each year. It’s the place my wife and I stand to wave goodbye to the children after they visit yelling bye repeatedly as they pull up the street.

It’s the spot where I stand as I exchange family info with my neighbors. It’s the spot that I first pulled my children from the back seat for the first time after they were delivered from the hospital. It’s the ground where when I pull out of the house that I yearn to return to after a vacation.

Its the spot that recharges me. I have gotten out of the car sometimes in so much pain, but the driveway always help me get upright and walking strong again. Because it’s the gateway to my home. And home is where the strength is.

I love my driveway.