My last post left me wondering how many people are still able to go back to the room they grew up in.
I'd love to know:
Did your parents keep your bedroom intact after you left home? If so, for how long?
When you go home for visits, do you sleep in the room that was once yours? Or is that room now a sewing room or media room or something else?
Does the home you lived in for most of your childhood still belong to your family?
If you're a parent of teenagers or grown children, do you intend to leave their rooms as they are or have you already drawn up plans for something new? Has empty nest syndrome left you considering relocating to a smaller nest altogether?
Please, leave comments below!
Did your parents keep your bedroom intact after you left home? If so, for how long?
ReplyDelete--- Yes, for a while... I know at least until 1996 or so. But, eventually they turned it into a den.
When you go home for visits, do you sleep in the room that was once yours? Or is that room now a sewing room or media room or something else?
--- Nope. My room is long gone. I rarely stay at home anymore. I think the last time I actually stayed there was when my oldest was about 1... so maybe 3 or 4 years go, I'd say. Usually I end up sleeping in either the 'guest room' which was my sisters former room, or the 'other guest room' which they created what was once the den / drumming room.
Does the home you lived in for most of your childhood still belong to your family?
--- Yup... the house mom and dad built still belongs to them.
If you're a parent of teenagers or grown children, do you intend to leave their rooms as they are or have you already drawn up plans for something new? Has empty nest syndrome left you considering relocating to a smaller nest altogether?
--- My kids aren't that old yet. The eldest is 4... so I've got a while to think about the 'leave their room alone or not' thing. I figured I'll be like my parents and leave it along until they get out of college. After that, it's fair game for renovation, since... like my parents, after they graduate I'll start handing them boxes of their stuff every time I see them. I must have had alot of stuff since my mom still occasionally shows up with a box or something or another.
It's funny, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. During my acupuncture treatments, I get left to lay (very still) quietly for 10-20 minutes at at time, so I've been spending these slow moments doing a memory exercise where I go through every detail I can remember about the house I grew up in. My parents split after my sisters and I were all out of the house (sort of), so when they sold the house and moved their separate ways, it was all gone, lickety-split.
ReplyDeleteI will say that after I left for college, they kept my bedroom pretty much the same until the house was sold, that was about 6 years. Both my sisters' rooms were repurposed (TV room and an office) but my twin bed was there until the day we packed it all up.
When I visit my Mom's house, I spend a lot of time exploring and discovering, even the old things seem brand new. Not so much with my Dad's house, which has very little in it from my childhood.
I still sleep in what my parents call "my" room when I visit (still my old bedroom but it has also become some sort of storage place, hee hee). Being at their house doesn't feel the same way it used to be though, it's like being a guest in a house that used to be "mine" in a way. What I love most is that however far I live, it's always the place I want to be when I need some pampering. Although the house has undergone many changes since I've left, I always feel at ease when I'm there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the rare occasions that my parents, brother and I are able to share a meal together, we seat at the same places we used to around the kitchen table, share stories and eat our favorite meals like it's a special occasion. It's one of my favorite things about going "home".
My parents moved when I was in college from the city I grew up in. I have driven past out old house once or twice, but the city, neighborhood and house have all gone down hill over the years, (a very, very large hill) so it's pretty sad.
ReplyDeleteI have already decided Maggie's room will be my sewing room. I only have to wait 12 more years. :)