Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Aunt Rose

Last post I said there would be more about that 94-year-old aunt. Here's the story:

Aunt Rose lives in a garage that's been converted into an apartment in our day care provider's house. Every time we pick up our children, we can smell her cooking. Some days, it's pasta with a meat sauce, or cabbage or other specialties. And the local news was on – always. So, when I pick up the children, I get a whiff of a meal and the brief window into the news of that day.

The first time we visited Sue, or as Nathaniel calls her, "Sue Sue," we met Aunt Rose. When Sue introduced us to her, she said, "This is my aunt Rose. She doens;t have any kids and never got married, and she asked if she could live here when she got older."

Without missing a beat, Aunt Rose said, "Not a lesbian."

Even more interesting than that, at least to us, is Aunt Rose lived in our house when she was a girl. That would be some 80+ years ago in a house that is a little older than 100. We bought this house in 2004 from two sisters, both elderly, one of whom was in her 80s and had lived there since she was married in her 20s. She had raised a family there, and her husband, who tended to a garden in the very spot where we have our largest one, died there.

So, we have a pretty long historical chain to our house that goes beyond a written record. It gives our house more life, in a way, a breathing history of sorts that we are now adding to.

There are more stories to hear about this house. We hope Aunt Rose gets better, so we can hear more from her.

2 comments:

Leeann said...

That's cool, especially the fact that she lived in your house.
But maybe someone should tell her that it's really trendy to be a lesbian these days. :-)

Richard Lewis said...

Trendy? Says who? I guess these things go in cycles, huh?