It is a bit strange that one of my fondest memories was waking up at 3:00AM and moving to the couch at My Uncle Lawrence & Aunt Neva's house to watch the Royal Wedding. Yes, those are old names, they were my Dad's Aunt and Uncle. I spent most of my summers in Western New York, near Niagara Falls with my Dad's parents. My Grandma would buy me a plane ticket I would spend 2 months going between the old farm house, the cottage on the lake in Canada and every single fun thing to do in the area (Marine Land, Darien Lake). My Grandma is why I am so spoiled! I had a chaotic childhood but my summers were consistent and predictable. Most of my young memories happened in the summer.
I started spending a week of my time with my Aunt and Uncle. It was different at their house, old and musty, hot tea with sugar cubes, a whole jar of pickles just for me, strawberry festivals, orchards in the back yard, BBQ's and walking out the the street each afternoon to get the mail. I do remember times where I was "bored", but not much. I would sit in the ironing room where there was a little TV with an antenna and it always seemed to be the time of year when the Tour de France was on TV. There were different sets of daily china that I could choose from. Doing the dishes in the evening was an event and their bathroom smelled like soap.
They had a tragic loss of their 13 year old daughter, Bonnie Jean, who had been hit by a drunk driver while riding home on her bicycle. There was one beautiful picture of her in their house, all the others had been put away long before I was born. The only other picture in the living room was of me. They paid for me to get portraits done one summer. I had to sleep in pink, foam hair rollers to curl my hair.
I slept in her room. The sheets were crisp and ironed and the pillows were really fluffy. My grandma told me that her room stayed untouched, the way she left it for a long time. I would lay in bed and wonder what it looked like when she lived there.
I still eat dinner on a set of their dishes. I clean my stove every time I cook on it. I smile whenever I see a sugar cube. And, now...I am really looking forward to the royal wedding, so don't call me a dork...it's sentimental!
