This past summer I had the one that was completely different from the past 77 of my life! I always find the summer as one of the most pleasant ones of my life. Always since I was born, I have spent the summer at the cottage my Great grandmother build for her two daughters in South Dennis on the Cape. Of course, my family had lived part-time and full-time in South Dennis and when my grandmother was young, in what was considered the family homestead. Which was a lovely white house on what was lots of property. However when my grandmother and her sister was married and both had two boys, I guess my great-grandmother wasn’t able to stand the noise and the number of children and children all gathered together in one house, so she talked my grandfather, who was a renowned architect to design and build two small cottages on the family land. And one was, of course, my grandmothers. And the cottage was built and enjoyed from 1921.
Now I was born in 1939 and from the minute I was born, “The Cottage” was my favorite place to spend my summer. Until I was married I spent the summer with my grandmother and after my marriage Malcolm and I and then our children all stayed there to. And when my Grandmother passed away in 1968, I sort of took her place. My brother gave me his share of the cottage and my cousin sold me his share and my children were thrilled and so was I. However no one was happier than my grandchildren, especially the two oldest, McKinley and Sebastan! They love every single about it and to this day don’t want a thing changed. And keep in mind that is exactly as it was when it was built!! And I think that a little paint might go a long way!
When June came along this year Malcolm and I had three dogs and two very old cats made our trip to the Cape. Everyone was happy to be going down and once we were there every one of us settled right in. And jus to make my summer even better the two big boys came for a short visit, my granddaughter Katie Mei ame from 10 days and the other two boys Tibi and Heidi came for a while too. And I was very pleased because I kept having memories of being with my adored grandmothers too. The only difference was now I was the grandmother and the grandchildren were me!
The only thing that I forgot was that in the past winter I had been in the hospital ( I am not sure how many times) and when I finally got out I spent two plus months at Mayos Rehabilitation Center, which I loved and didn’t really want to go home! But that was Mayo. Now, one morning my terrific daughter and Dr. of Physical Therapy Sarah came over and took a look at y left leg, gve a gasp and said that I had to get right up and go to the hospital! She thought that aI had celulitis. So, of we were and I got to spend another 4-5 days in the hospital and attempting to heal and not ruin my entire summer! So, very good care and good food kept me going and quite soon I went home. But I want to tell you that my summer just wasn’t as wonderful as I wanted it to be. From the second I got back to the cottage, all I heard was take it easy, keep on eye on your leg and try to heal. Do you know how ridiculous it is to heal a certain body part? At least for me, it just isn’t possible.
So, now that summer is over and we are back home things are not quite as good as I might life. Both my old Siamese cats, Yul and Victor passed away this summer. It isn’t as bad as it might sound because both were over 20 and both just laid down and went to sleep but both Malcolm and I cried at the loss of our wonderful boys. But both are buried in our pet cemetery right below our cottage and nestled right in with the rest of our family pets. May they all rest in peace.
Any one who has a Siamese kitten or even a grown cat that needs a good home, please give me a call. I can’t guarantee much but I can assure you they will have a loving and happy home.