Moving up and out

I'll post stories of my travel adventures soon. I'm still going through over 2000 photos (!), and am trying to select some some gems which best illustrate the story.
I know when most folks come home from vacation posting photos is one of the first things they do, but I've been a little preoccupied since my return.
As I mentioned earlier I've been going through mounds of belongings (crap) to make room for my new roommate, my friend Alison whom I've known for about 16 years. But I wasn't the only one in my family with moving and disposing of crap on their agenda. My parents are selling their house and moving to a 55 and over community about 40 miles away.
My sister broke the news to me in tears, unable to hold it in before my parents told me. I sat there in shock trying to soak it in. Our parents have lived in that house since 1991. At one point we had 7 people living in the 5 er 6 bedroom house on the quiet cul de sac within walking distance to all of our schools and a lake. It's where we gather every Sunday like a norman rockwell a la Italian version for dinner. At one point it seemed as if we were recreating Queens N.Y in our neighborhood with my parents, my grandma and my sister (and nephew) all living within a half a mile of each other in separate homes. Life is never stagnant, and the family ideal will alwasy change. We just always hope it's for the better because change isn't alwasys good.
But it's not the house, it's what it symbolizes and what's inside. It means no more 15 minute jaunts over to visit Mom and Dad to sit on the front porch and have a glass of wine as we talk about our days or I borrow one of Dad's tools. No more Sunday dinners where we play pass the babies between bites of pasta.
But they'll only be about 45 minutes away. It'll be like moving from Queens to Long Island. They'll be near my brother and his fiance. And I know it'll be a good situation for them. Taking care of large house in your retirement days is not what someone wants to do. Always a repair or maintence or etc. The neighborhood is younger now and with most folks either too busy or keeping to themselves to have the almost monthly gatherings at someones house. Friends disperse in their own retirement suites around the coast.
The community they'll be moving to has many ammenities; a new home, golf cart community, and such. It'll be easier for my Mom to get around and my Dad won't have to contantly repair something or another and he can relax and theyc an both focus on their health
I think having your own place really helps with a transition like this. I think if I was renting I would feel like I was losing some sort of comfort or structure or etc. home.
Now that I am opening my home up to someone else it's really making me realize how one can get set in their ways when they live alone too long. esp when the place is one which you own (well, the bank really owns it but whatevs-no, not foreclosure- just crappy loan). But I needed that exercise in compormise as well as getting rid of toooooooooooons of shtuff. how the hell did I manage to accumulate so much junk? and sifting through it, dear god it's time consuming! And you have to sift though it b/c you might find something useful like ooh tax information and pin numbers that you've been looking for...oops.
Going through all of my belongings is a great thing to do when you're really close to being broke. It makes you realize just how wealthy you are in some aspects. And it really turns you off from doing any shopping except maybe food shopping.
It was great timing too. coming back from a trip, recharged and renewed with the gusto of life, it makes it easier to tackle the mounds of boxes and just toss what you don't need. It's hard when you know how much money you had spent on those items - but when you see less mounds of stuff you feel so much less of a burden upon yourself.
So my parents and I are living out our own personal HGTV specials. I wouldn't mind being the star of a different kind of tv special, but this works for now.