Can a childhood be measured in boxes?
Every parental journey always starts with purchasing maternal clothes and before the baby wears their first diaper, many baby items are bought in preparation for the baby’s arrival. Now many of those items are ordered online and conveniently delivered at home. As the baby gets bigger diapers, clothing and other helpful items arrive in the brown large parcels. Before one knows it, the time for school supplies arrive as well as toys from here to there as well in packages both big and small. Eventually, the college supplies come in and those cardboard wonders often double as temporary moving boxes. Finally, the large parcels become moving out boxes when the child is grown up and ready to move out on their own.
This past spring, my oldest daughter graduated from college and this summer she landed her first job in the career field that she had studied to get her degree in. With a few months under her belt, the oldest daughter is in the process of moving into an apartment which came when she was ready. Her childhood bedroom, the biggest in the house by the way, has over twenty years of memories including stuffed animals, novels, DIY gifts and more clothing than she was prepared to pack. While she is moving fifteen minutes down the road, the now adult will have a room to stay which is considerably smaller as she will not need to store as much at home. As the days to the end of summer click down, the emptier the room becomes. Boxes that have been collected the past couple of months are marked for keep or donate. No one is truly prepared for these days except for the future tenants.
Her elementary school aged sisters are ready to move into the room that always seemed fun. The room has been changing with white walls where concert and movie posters once stood. There are pieces of furniture that has since left in the preparation of new beds coming. The additional windows provide a new perspective to different parts of the yard. The younger girls have big plans for sleepovers including some involving their big sister. The excitement will no doubt replace the sadness that currently occupies the space.
Boxes are coming in as quickly as they move out. They deliver goodies and they pack up the memories. One thing is for sure, she is lucky that she is only moving fifteen minutes away!
