Grandma and Grandpa Dolly’s House

 Growing older is inevitable, and as I age, the people dear to me age….and with age,  it’s only a matter of time until there is change…..and I’m not one for change. This past summer, my grandparent’s decided it was time for them to sell their home (the place where I spent so many nights running, playing, and snuggling) to build a more suitable home that better fits their needs.  Of course I was sad to hear the news, but I knew it was coming, the gardens and house were simply too much to take care of.  They decided to start giving away some of their things to family to make the move to a smaller house easier.  As my grandma walked me around the house, I almost broke down thinking about childhood memories of me playing dress up with my cousins, to teenage memories of me crying into my grandma’s arms, to present day sitting beside them, watching my grandpa hide quarters for my boys to find.  My heart hurt as I realized my daughter would never get the chance to spend the night in the “pink doll room” with her cousins, she would never remember playing on the swing in the backyard, she would never remember running up and down the stairs dragging her hands along the banister….and that’s when I decided to take her pictures there…so we can remember together, so I can tell her all of the stories that were born in grandma and grandpa dolly’s house. (If you are wondering why we call them grandma and grandpa dolly, it’s because my grandma owns Dolly Heaven, a doll repair shop downtown New Haven.)
     If you have ever been on Powers St in New Haven, then you’ve probably seen the big white pillars of their house (or mansion as I used to call it). In the spring, the bushes would bear their bright yellow flowers, and in the winter, the candle lights in the windows would give a soft glow through the curtains….it was magical.  And being able to see my daughter on the front steps was even more magical. 
  As my grandparent’s prepare to move into the next stage of their lives, I realize now more than ever, that although I will miss their house greatly, a house is just a house… and it’s the people inside of it that make it a home, and when I’m with my grandma and grandpa, no matter where it may be, it always feels like home.  I love you grandma and grandpa!!