"Savannah" This is a Narrative/Descriptive Essay I wrote for my english class.

Savannah.

It is the quietest most serene place I could ever go. There isn't anywhere else in the world that can compare to my little space. Being there makes me feel relaxed and calm. It is the best place to feel loved and be treated like a king. My papaw's house is the most majestic place in the world, and I love to visit there.

It takes a long time for me to get to the best place in the world. Usually three of four hours will but us in Savannah, Tennessee, unless I'm driving. Although the drive is long and tedious, the nature around me on the way is so beautiful. There are hills, trees, pigs, cows, and green grass as far as I can see. My family and I always have the best time on that very long drive. We fill the car with country music, and we all join in and sing along. Laughter, singing, and wonderful conversation fill my ears all the way there. I always love to be able to have good conversation with my mom and brother. Without the long drive and enormous amount of time, the visit wouldn't be the same. The best memory that I have would have to be how every time, like clockwork, we stop right in the middle of the drive and do the same things. We stop in the same spot, we buy the same things, and we always use the restroom. Although it's more of a tradition and not a memory, I can always count on stopping there for a midway drive snack. When we almost reach our destination, there is one special road that my brother and I get very

excited about. We always start getting extremely cheerful and start chanting "PAPAW'S AND NANNY'S!" over and over again until we finally reach their house.

As I arrive at my sanctuary, my car climbs the huge white gravel hill that leads to my home away from home. I step out of the car, without fail, stretch and look around. I see the most beautiful place in the world. I smell nature all around me and the stench of pigs not far away. I hear nothing but cars speeding down the highway below us, and pigs grunting and squealing at each other. I see trees everywhere, a shed filled with tractors and farm utensils, and then I turn and find the home that I have visited all my life. A long white brick house filled with all of the memories we have made. When I look at the front, I see the prettiest porch with two big pitch black swings. Memories flood brain to the point of exertion. If only those swings could talk, oh the stories they would tell. I start to take the long walk around the house to the big back yard, where for so many years I played. The smooth white concrete back porch is coming up. WOW, it looked so much bigger when I was six. I turn and see the spotlessly clean sliding glass door. I look through and see the den where everything takes place.

I pull the door back, take my shoes off, and step onto the soft cream carpet entering the den. I smell the same smell I have smelt for eighteen years, and it's a smell that I can find only in this house. The smell is indescribable, but it's their smell and it's the best smell in the world. There his chair sits right in front of me, still looking brand new. Looking around I spot that old brown stove. He always likes to keep it warm in the hours and even though he has regular central heat and air unit he always like to have that going to. It's always at "111" in his house, as mom likes to say, but at least we stay warm. Turning and taking it all in, I walk toward the hall. Upon approaching the hall, numerous picture of the whole family line it. I look to my left and see the bathroom where for so many Saturdays my mom, nanny, and I would get ready to go shopping and bless the world with out presence.

"Brittany," Nanny would say, "add a little more rouge to this side."

"But Nanny that's not what is in style anymore," I would reply.

So many days we spent talking, laughing, and cutting up placed into the trusty memory bank to be pulled out at a later date. Turning right I see the room that as a small child I was never allowed to go into.

"Brittany this is your mom's first deer she killed," Papaw said.

"Oh my papaw," I replied, "how'd you keep this for so long?"

Papaw laughed and said, "We had it stuffed and mounted so we could keep it and the memory forever."

Every object in the room holds a piece of history, and tells a story. I walk a little more down the hall way and turn to my left and see a bedroom. They usually didn't use this room, but one day nanny moved in. I wouldn't understand this until I got older, but not it all makes perfect sense. This is the room that contains all the bad memories that, for now, are left to be shut away. Walking to the end of the hall and stepping left, I enter the room that has papaw filled to the top. He is one of the greatest men on earth. It isn't as cluttered as the other rooms; except for the one closet where he keeps everything we give him. Stepping across the hall, I find my mom's old room where we sleep every time we go there. If I pull the door back, I find the most hilarious memory yet. Among the flowered wallpaper, I find a pair of read lips. Why would there be one pair of red lips among all of the flowers? Only the small curious child will ever know the truth. As I walk back up the hall and look into the den, I realize that this house holds many memories that can't help but flood my brain. Directly ahead is the homey kitchen where I usually like to stay. Looking at the bar, I realize that for so many years I have set there. Now looking at the bar, I see flashbacks of all the conversations, love and laughter shared. Maybe from now on when I sit there, I'll know how meaningful the one place is to me and all of my family. Unexplainable feelings fill my body as I realize this is the one place in the world I can come to, and without fail fell safe and loved.

Stepping back out and looking at the front of the house, reflecting back on the "good 'ole days" I wonder why anyone would ever want to leave, but all good things do come to an end. I want to sit and look around, and absorb all of the memories, but that would take a lifetime. Before deciding to walk back to my car and drive that long tedious drive home, I take one more moment to reflect and take it all in. As I step into my car, a few tears fill my eyes, and I turn the car around and head down the same long white gravel driveway I came up on. I leave the one place in the world that will remain my sanctuary holding all my thoughts, dreams, and memories truly of a lifetime.