Mansion Apartment Shack House

What if I did wake up this morning next to my husband, Tom Cruise*? Would I feel happy as I gazed out the window of our shack and saw the skyline of Connersville below? I wonder what I would be thinking as I loaded our 67 children into our Hovercraft to take them to school before I had to be at my job as a plumber.

Thank the lord that my life didn't turn out the way it was predicted in 3rd grade--courtesy of the game M.A.S.H.** My friends and I spent hours playing this game and laughing at all of the possibilities and combinations of husbands, jobs, and homes. The game hadn't crossed my mind in years--until I was thinking about how my Mom is currently in the process of cleaning out, painting, and pulling up the carpet in my old bedroom in Richmond. I started to wonder what she would find in there. That room was all I had for 14 years of my life and it has been virtually untouched since I left for college. Sure, my parents made it into the "computer room," and put a futon in place of my bed. But, my Barbies are still in the closet and my posters and magazine clipping-collages were still on the walls until three days ago. I saved everything from the intricately folded notes passed to me in 5th grade, to every school dance ticket stub. So, I'm sure my 2nd grade diary and old notebooks, covered in games of MASH, True Love, Hangman, etc., must be in there somewhere. It would be hilarious to read them. Now that my Mom is getting rid of all of the things I left behind, it's official that the only childhood bedroom I can remember-the one that has been there for me for so many years- is finally not associated with me at all. I know it happened years ago, but I don't remember ever consciously thinking about the fact that my parents' house is not my home anymore. I mean, I will always go back there and it will always feel comfortable and familiar, but it will never again be my home. It's so strange to think about how you just grow up- practically without even noticing. One minute you're playing a silly game to predict the type of home you'll have when you grow up, and the next--you're actually buying it. I'm sure before I know it, I'll be cleaning out the notes, posters, and ticket stubs that my children leave beind. It reminds me of that scene in Garden State:

You know that point in your life when you realize that the house that you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of the sudden even though you have some place where you can put your stuff that idea of that home is gone....it just sort of happens one day and it's just gone. It's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I miss the idea of it. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people who miss the same imaginary place."

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* Hey, I was in 3rd grade! Those were the 'Top Gun' days--before I knew he was an insane, gay, Operating Thetan-level 7!

**Of course when I thought about the game, I had to 'Google' it- because that's just what you do when anything pops into your head that you're curious about. So, I found the a pretty good description if you need a refresher. Or...you can do like the kids today, and go this website and play it to see what your future holds!