Earlier this week, I ran into an old friend of mine whom I hadn't seen since high school. We met when we were teenagers through the local weekend ski program, so I only ever really saw her on the weekends when she and her family would come up north to go skiing and stay at her family's house in town. We've somewhat stayed in touch through social media since then, but this past week was the first time I had seen her in years.

I used to do a lot of house and dog sitting in my early twenties, and a few years back, I actually house-sat at her family's house for a weekend—except it didn't belong to her family anymore. I told her about this when I saw her, and she was intrigued. She had so many fond memories associated with that house from her childhood, and it was clear she missed it a lot.

This happened to me several times during my house-sitting days; I'd receive an inquiry from someone, find out the address for the house, and know exactly where it was because I'd been there before as a kid. Each time that would occur, I'd feel this lingering and bittersweet sense of nostalgia and homesickness for a time and a place that no longer existed. It was interesting to see the things that changed and the things that remained the same in these houses, and share my own experiences and memories of the past with the new owners. It was like I was a time traveler, relaying news from the past to perhaps impact the future.

In the close-knit communities that we serve, it's not uncommon for some of our long-time agents to see homes and properties through multiple stages of ownership. It can be helpful to have that extra bit of perspective and knowledge from your agent, and it's one of the many advantages to working with the Badger Peabody & Smith team.

I often find myself reflecting on my own home and the folks who lived here long before me. There are so many questions I wish I could ask them. Most are simple and cosmetic, like wall colors and kitchen layouts; others are a bit more complex. Most of my questions will never be answered, though, as no one lived in my house for many, many years before I did. For now, I'll have to rely on my own imagination to fill in the history, especially since I don't know of any time-traveling house-sitters to ask either!

Paige O. Roberts has a degree in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Henniker Review, Sidereal Magazine, Rejection Letters, and Cypress. She has been nominated for a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize. She lives in northern New Hampshire, where she owns and operates a pet boutique called Tailswag.