As of last week my parents officially live in Richmond. This is great news for several reasons (chief among them: free babysitting), so we’re thrilled to have them just 15 minutes away — close enough to help out often. You’ll likely see glimpses of their new place as they settle in and as we assist with projects around the house (perhaps in exchange for all that babysitting). If you follow us on Flickr, you may have already noticed we wasted no time testing out their community pool once the moving truck left:
Just three days after closing on the new house, my parents celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary (and my mom’s birthday came up shortly after — May is a busy month for celebrations). Since 39 years doesn’t have a traditional anniversary gift theme (35th is coral or jade and 40th is ruby), my sisters and I planned something meaningful to commemorate the 32 years they spent in their previous home (pictured below). This was in addition to the little painting we gave them last month as a moving gift.
My mom has always collected small wooden keepsakes that represent buildings and landmarks — miniature, hand-painted blocks that capture places with sentimental value. She’s especially fond of pieces tied to family traditions, like the Dolles taffy shop in Rehoboth Beach (our regular vacation spot) or the West Virginia State Capitol (her home state). When I learned the makers accept custom orders, we decided to commission a replica of our childhood house:
They call the service “My World.” Using the photo above, the artist produced a custom wood block of my parents’ home. The order took about six weeks and cost roughly $99 for a pair (we made two — one for the Richmond house and one for their beach place). A $100 gift tends to hit the sweet spot for us four siblings, since we each chip in $25. If you look closely, you’ll notice a small black cat in the window — it’s the maker’s signature detail, and it doubles as a nod to our family’s black cat, Duncan, who now lives with my sister Carrie.
They did a lovely job, although the color on the block looks a bit bluer than the actual house — in reality it’s more gray, so our photo may have influenced the finish. The back is customizable, and their standard text usually includes the name of the place and a few historical notes. I wrote a short passage that sums up the house’s story for our family.
In case the text is hard to read, it says:
This lovely residence in Burke, Virginia became home to Tom and Kathy Petersik in 1979. Their four children, Katie, Emily, John and Carrie, loved growing up here — from playing with neighborhood kids in the cul-de-sac to eventually pushing their own children on the swings behind the house. In their 32 years here, [their street number] played host to Christmas mornings on the stairs, Easter egg hunts in the backyard, and countless family feasts.
(For context: we always gathered on the staircase for a group photo on Christmas morning before dashing off to open presents — we didn’t actually open gifts while perched on the steps.)
As we hoped, the two wooden replicas of their former home were a hit when my parents opened them this weekend while we were at the beach. They seem pleased to have a small keepsake of the house where they raised their kids — a sweet memento to display in their new Richmond home where they’ll soon be hosting grandkids for babysitting sessions.