I went to my birth home to retrieve something I had left in my bedroom. The door was unlocked so I went into the house. The door to the attic staircase was standing open and I noticed a light on. I stood in the kitchen for a few minutes listening and wondering what to do. I finally walked over to the open door and looked up the staircase. Mother was standing on a step about halfway up. She had the upper attic door pulled open and the light in the attic was on. She was probably looking for something. The staircase looked the same as always. It was dark and cluttered. There were so many things hanging on the walls on both sides and sitting to both sides of every step that there was barely room to walk up the steps. I said hello and she turned to look at me, somewhat surprised to see me. She came down into the kitchen. I told her I had come by to get something from my room. She gave me a quizzical look. In waking life it's an hour and a half drive so I would never "just come by." I went into the bedroom and started looking through things trying to find whatever it was I was looking for. I was surprised by how many things I still had here. I was even more surprised that Mother had kept everything just as it was for 26 years, especially since we weren't at all close. I decided that I was going to clear everything out and take it with me. Mother came in. She didn't say anything. I'm not sure if she wanted to or if she just wanted to see what I was doing or what. It didn't really strike me as odd though as it's pretty typical behavior for her. I finally spoke, telling her that I decided I'm going to get everything out of there for her, that I'm going to take everything with me. Then she can use the room however she would like. She gave me this look that she does when she's thinking something sarcastic. She rarely says what she's thinking, and she didn't this time either. She just turned and walked out of the room. I started going through storage containers in the closet, again surprised that all of this stuff was there. In the corner by the dressing table I saw something somewhat hidden in the corner. It was pink and white and frilly. It didn't look like something I would own at all. I pulled it out. I was folded up something like today's popular camping chairs are. I pulled it open enough to realize that it was the dressing table that had been there before the one I used. I pushed it back together and placed it back in the corner. I looked at the floral bedspread and curtains. I still remember when I redecorated that room, shortly after graduating from high school. The bedspread and curtains were a large floral print with shades of yellow, green and brown. I had painted the walls a bright green. I started thinking about the bedspread and curtains. I knew that I had purchased them but I was debating whether or not she would expect me to leave them. I think the angry teenager came out a bit. I thought, heck. She made me buy my own facial tissue when I still lived at home. Why would I leave these bed linens and curtains for her when I paid for them? They certainly cost a lot more than facial tissue.