"Movin' on up"

After 27 great years in our home, my parents finally moved! Many have asked, “So did you get something smaller?” I could understand this assumption for parents of a 21, 27, and 29 year old. It would only make sense to, you know, get something cozy, a smaller place for retirement, and something easy to clean. They couldn’t really see this happening since we are ALL LIVING AT HOME. So they actually upsized!

Although we’d love to take credit for their decision on a bigger place, they really had grandkids in mind (smile).They know pretty soon (hopefully), all three of their grown children will run off with the loves of their lives, and make beautiful mini-me’s. At this point, they will have plenty of space to run and play with the dog and cats and fish and…

It’s a nice 5 bedroom home, and when we’re gone, there will be offices for both mom and dad, and a couple of nice guest rooms for US! So, I’m the only lone ranger downstairs. Mom, Brian and Aaron will all office out of their own rooms, and dad will now have his very own space to watch the sports games, or millionaire…

We are still working on getting the remainder of our 27 years of belongings out of the old home. It may take a little while, but eventually Loddington Street will only be a great memory in all our minds. We’re gonna’ miss ya’ little squirrel feeder with the lid that slams shut, and overgrown pink oleander, and birds nest in the fireplace, and bistro set where we had nice neighborhood kids tea parties on late Saturday mornings, and street-wide cookouts, and hoe downs during the hurricane…or where Brian is usually found out in the street playing with the kids, or we're all involved in hide-and-go-seek games in the pitch black dark, or combined car-washing efforts.

I learned how to ride my purple bike on that street, and scratched my knees up trying to roller skate (and wet my pants on the floor when I couldn’t get my skates off in time to get to the bathroom). We home-schooled in that house, and learned how to make peanut butter and banana boat sandwiches while mom had morning sickness with Aaron. Aaron and I threw Brian’s CD’s over that fence like frisbees when he was in rebellion, and Brian got his first yellow VW Bug where he learned how to drive a standard in the back streets of that neighborhood. We had plenty of holidays and Christmas open houses there, where dad was always worried about the parking situation outside…and the love of friends and families was always very much present inside. It was a great place and we’ll have those unforgettable moments etched in our minds forever.