Some Places Stay With You Forever
Back when I was 14, I spent about a year and a half living in Essex, England — and honestly, it still feels a little surreal to think about now.
Some memories fade over time, but that chapter of my life somehow never did.
Every House Had a Name
One thing that completely confused me at first?
The houses didn’t really use numbers the way we do here.
Almost every house had a name.
The one we lived in was called Wilmington.
And honestly? As a teenager, that felt pretty fancy 😂
My First “Job”
Me and my sisters had newspaper routes delivering The Sun and The Mirror.
We got paid about 2 pounds a route… which back then worked out to around $2.70.
Now listen — I know that doesn’t sound like much.
But to a 14-year-old girl?
That felt like financial freedom 😂
The Newspaper Route Disaster
Our very first route took THREE HOURS.
Three.
Hours.
We were out there confidently delivering papers like professionals… until we realized the newspapers actually had names on them.
Names we completely ignored.
So halfway through, we had to go BACK, collect papers, and re-deliver everything correctly.
Cold.
Wet.
Confused.
But hey… we survived.
From Three Hours to Twenty Minutes
By the end of the week?
We had the whole route down to about 20 minutes.
Growth 😌
The shop owner even gave us a nickname:
“The American girls.”
Not because we were cool… but because he couldn’t remember our names 😂
What We Spent Our Money On
Honestly?
Mostly comfort food from home.
I drank so much Coke back then that I can barely stand it now.
And we constantly made macaroni with tomato juice — which sounds questionable, I know 😂
But it reminded us of home, and somehow that made everything feel okay.
The Horse Farm
And if delivering newspapers wasn’t enough…
In the afternoons, we’d walk a couple miles to help at a local horse farm.
We cleaned stalls, fed horses, groomed them… and in return, we got to ride.
Which honestly felt like the greatest deal ever.
Running Home Before Dad Got Back
The only rule was this:
Be home before Dad got off work around 4:00.
Did we always manage our time well?
Absolutely not.
There were MANY days we lost track of time and had to sprint the entire way home like our lives depended on it.
Side stitches?
Definitely.
Regret?
Also definitely.
But we loved every second of it.
Looking Back Now…
The funny thing is…
When I think about that time now, it’s not really the money I remember.
It’s the freedom.
The independence.
The tiny little moments that somehow felt huge at the time.
And honestly… those are usually the memories that stick with you the longest.
Until Next Time…
Funny how the smallest moments can end up becoming the ones you carry with you forever.
Not the expensive things or the big dramatic memories…
just random little moments that somehow stayed tucked away in my brain all these years later.
And honestly?
Teenage me probably had no idea one day I’d be sitting in Pennsylvania, drinking coffee, writing blog posts about England and feeling nostalgic over rainy roads and grocery stores 😅”
Until we meet again, have a blessed day 💛