Growing up

I need to hang the pictures in this house.

First, I need to find out what is in the attic.

Then I need to organize the basement,

finally, the things in the garage that go in the basement 

or in the attic need to return to their respective places.

Only then will I be able to access the pictures to hang.

I started that process yesterday.

This move was perfectly timed.

The moving company packed everything up, and loaded it into the truck,

and dropped it off here while

 the sisters and I went to the cottage for the summer.

We had a fabulous summer.

Now that we're here, and the house is smaller,

we no longer have a toy room.  

Actually, we no longer need a toy room.

The sisters have outgrown their toys, 

and are satisfied to store them in the attic,

and generously donated a few as well.

Yesterday, while in the attic,

sorting through the boxes,

organizing the holiday decor which we will need in a few weeks,

I opened the box of dress-up clothes,

which was full of lots of things that didn't belong in there,

because kids rarely put things back where they belong.

I found two napkins from a tea party,

and a wipe-erase board listing 18 different kinds of tea served.

The long lengths of fabric used for so many things:

rivers, beds, forts, and costumes, 

were hopelessly knotted and tangled with safety pins,

couture designed by the sisters, 

worn by themselves and their friends.

It was weird, to see these items frozen in time,

and suddenly I wished 

for a moment

that the pretending days in our house were not over.

I wanted to post a picture here,

taken 4 years ago,

of all the neighborhood kids,

but iPhoto is still mad at me, 

and told me so by giving me a big, red exclamation point.

I gotta call that computer guy back.