I am saving room for dinner…

I spent last weekend visiting The Rose’s grandparents in a small town outside of Boston, where they have lived since the 50’s in their small square grandparent’s house. They are without a doubt the nicest, littlest, oldest people I have ever spent any time around in my life. Her grandfather spends his days in the garden and her grandmother spends her days cooking.

You have to understand that I lost all of my grandparents when I was still a child. I believe the last of them died when I was around 14 years old. Now that I am old enough to technically be a grandparent – don’t get any ideas Nick – my parents are the oldest people I know and they are in their early sixties. The Rose’s grandparents are in their mid eighties. They have been married since they were in their early twenties…yeah, they will be married sixty-six years in August. Imagine that sometime.

Her grandparents are great. Her Nunna is constantly cooking and thus tried to feed me all weekend. There is always room for a little more macaroni. She is the type of grandmother that makes something special for you because you like it. Her brother made a random comment, around the time the second or third course came up from the basement, about not having fried meatballs and low and behold, ten minutes later – fried meatballs. Oh and delicious fried meatballs. I mentioned to her that I like the bragiole she cooked Friday night and so she made it for me again on Sunday. Again delicious.

There was so much food and it just kept coming up from the basement – where her SECOND kitchen is. I got to the point that, if asked if I needed more food, I would always respond, "no thanks I am saving room for dinner," even after dinner was served. We had home made pasta with “sauce” – you Italians will know what that means – and bragiole, sausage, meatballs, pork and lamb for dinner. Oh and lest I forget the chicken cutlets. This was after having soppressata and cheese as well as meatballs and fried meatballs for a snack. AND THIS WAS JUST FRIDAY NIGHT! We had a BBQ on Saturday – for the cousin who graduate high school – and another big dinner on Sunday. I have never eaten so much food in three days.

After dinner Friday night, Nunna said she had thought of making rice pudding but hadn’t gotten to it, so The Rose and she made it together, just in case we had saved room for dessert. What room? Her brother could barely move while sitting in a chair after dinner.

We spent a lot of time this weekend just talking to them and I found their lives to be fascinating. They are funny and insightful. Her grandfather told us stories of delivering mail before there were zip codes. He is a retired postal worker. Nunna spent her youth sewing in a sweat shop in Boston.

We discussed what it was like to raise a family in the old days. How they didn’t have heat growing up so in the winter time they would sleep with a hot brick in their bed. Or how it was so cold they would close off the front room of their apartment because, according to her uncle, ”it would snow in there.” How they used to use every ounce of food they could get and how meat was a luxury. How they used to “fight over the last piece of fried blood for breakfast,” according to her dad. The conversations were great and I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time.

And Nunna, don’t worry I will still talk to you even if you vote republican this year.

They made me feel like a part of the family and I am really glad I got to meet them. It makes me wish that my grandparents had lived long enough for me to become an adult and truly appreciate their experiences and their lives. If you are lucky enough to have some old timers still around in your family, take the time to learn about their lives. It is truly amazing how different our lives are today from theirs. I really don’t know how they made it.

I met most of the Rose’s family this weekend and I am amazed at how close they all are. I am lucky that over the last decade I have gotten close with my immediate family – my siblings and parents. But it is different for The Rose. Her entire family is very close. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews are all part of one big family unit. They celebrate and commiserate together. And although I may think it a little strange to travel to Boston just to see a cousin graduate from high school, I think it must be incredible to have a family that would.