Going Home: Lessons From My Parents

If you’re a regular reader of this blog (as you should be), then you know that I recently spent nearly a week living in my childhood home, in an attempt to help my parents declutter. [You can reread the articles here and here.]

I managed to make it out alive, with our relationship still in tact and only a handful of castoff items to bring home: My summer park pass from when I was 8 years old and my mom’s subway token necklace (not sure why I needed to take that park pass, but my mother was insistent), a Rolling Rock bar sign and a set of pint glasses for my college junior, a Philadelphia Eagles blanket for my younger son, and a Philadelphia Eagles tie for my husband.

Not too bad, considering all the other crap well-loved items they were trying to pawn off lovingly pass on to me.

In addition to this random collection of items, I also took away some interesting knowledge — mostly about my parents, but also about myself.

Here’s what I learned after spending five days with my aging parents in my childhood home:

• The stereotype that all old(er) people eat dinner at 5PM is spot on.
• I’m at the age where I truly appreciate my parents’ raised toilet seat and low-entry shower tub.
• My parents still skimp on toilet paper quality (one-ply because of “old pipes”), but are spendthrifts when it comes to napkins and paper towels. (FYI, this blows my mind!)
• Old(er) people still read newspapers — three, to be exact — every morning.
• Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune still reign supreme in my parents’ home (and the volume is deafening).
• I grew up on oldies music, but I apparently do have a limit as to how much ’50s Doo Woop, Motown, and ’60s pop I can handle. (Spoiler: The answer is not all day every day for five straight days!).
• A morning walk is good for my soul — and disposition.
• I kinda miss a traditional gym – or at least some of the equipment that I don’t have at home.
• Ralph’s Italian ices are better than Rita’s water ices. I said what I said — come at me. #iykyk

Living with my parents in their home for nearly a week certainly was challenging at times, but I think it helped me understand them better. It also gave me a glimpse into my future — for better or worse. All I know is, when I got home, I started purging some things I had been putting off getting rid of … and blasting my version of oldies music (read: ’90s hip hop) while I did it. I guess the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

— LJDT