My Stuff Marooned on My Parents’ Lawn

This is a picture of some of the last of my stuff that I've had stored in my parents basement for the last 20 years as it's being loaded on to a United Van Lines truck.

This is a shipment that includes about 30 boxes of Cher stuff, all my childhood tchotchkes, that green chair I inherited from my grandmother and many, many other things.

It also includes this somewhat large dollhouse you see in the picture. When I was a baby, my grandmother from New Mexico gave me savings bonds (probably for college or something). When I was eleven, I instead cashed them in for a Victorian dollhouse that my Dad ended up building shingle by shingle. When I was about 19, my grandfather moved in with us from Reedsport, Oregon. He helped me finish the outside work on it. I remember how he used to spend about ten minutes organizing all the glue and wood before we got going each night, telling me how important organizing things was.

My Dad had actually already built me another dollhouse (from scratch) when I was about 4 or 5 that looked like The White Hosue. Then when I was 27 years old, my parents moved from St. Louis to the Lancaster Pennsylvannia area. Before the move, my Dad told me he would only move one dollhouse, not both of them. What? It was a very traumatic decision somewhat like Sophie's Choice. I chose this one.

And I'm 42 years old now and it's time to get my stuff moved out so I can finish the dollhouse project before I die. My mom emailed me this picture this morning as the truck was being loaded. I guess my stuff has kind of gotten attached to my parents. I think the dollhouse was symbolic of something…like my childhood…because seeing the thing out on my parents lawn has made me weepy all day.

I've very happy to get my stuff and all; I guess it's just a bit sad to be finally moving out.