72% of widows move within the first two years. hahahaha…I just made up that statistic. How would I know?
Many non-widows (is that like non-Jews? ) suggest I sell the house and start fresh. We bought this house 21 years ago. I remember this because Jackie was ten and Doug was six. Erma Bombeck said, “If we didn’t use our kids as a gage we’d never remember when things happened.” I guess she was right.
So, here I am. I continue to put my energy into house projects. I won’t bore you with a list, but it’s significant. So significant that my friends Alex, Richie, Anderson, Robert, Nadia, and Lynn came over yesterday and maybe they were thinking what Jim Scoroposki yelled, ” So this is what you did with the insurance money!”
My latest project? I paneled and put a drop ceiling in the garage. Okay. Perhaps, that wasn’t necessary. Still, it’s a terrific looking garage and it adds value to the house, doesn’t it? Am I selling? AHHHHHHHHH…I think that’s panic speaking.
Our house has always been the “go to” house just like Jimmy was the “go to” guy. We had most holidays, even the “little” ones like Prom party, Mother’s Day and Fathers Day and July 4th (wait…that’s not so little)
When my friends Blondie and Barry moved to Florida and came up to New York they stayed here. Same with my cousins Marion and Marcel and my brother-in-law Robert and sister-in-law Carmela. My nephew Chuck has stayed weeks at a time.
Since Jimmy died all of the above have flopped in my guestroom. I wanted to establish early on that Jimmy wasn’t the only gracious one. (When my friend Connie saw my pristine garage she said, “Now we know who the slob was.”) When a couple divorces see who your friends prefer…you find out who the ‘dead wood’ is. In death, it’s simpler.
In keeping with tradition, this Sunday will be the third bridal shower in this house since Jimmy died. Over the years we hosted a million (give or take) bridal showers and baby showers here. This house has heard more “oohs and ahhs” as the bride opens her presents than Brad and Angelina hear from the crowd as they walk the red carpet.
The famous baby shower line? “Wouldn’t it be funny if her water broke right here!” Not really.
Can I move away from my next door neighbors, and close friends Sheri and Fred? And, what about Debbie and Henry, a town away. AHHHHHHHH…Jackie got divorced in July and I encouraged her and Skylar to move closer to me. Happily, they did so where am I going now?
Without getting into the tragic circumstances, just last week I even held a Shiva here. So “they” think I should move, huh? Between the kids and the friends and the overnight guests, not to mention the showers and the shivas, I’ll never be able to get the &%$#@ out of here.