What follows is a short story from Rosemary’s past. After talking with her, I have taken our discussion and turned it into a series of small stories highlighting the incredible life that she has led. Direct quotes from our discussion are highlighted in quotation marks. All else is a retelling written by yours truly.
And so life moved along for Rosemary and Bill. Far from the almost yearly moves of their earlier marriage, life in England was probably the closest to settled Rosemary and the family would ever get.
Slowly the children grew up. Rosemary’s eldest left to study at Durham. Their second eldest disappeared to Aberdeen and never came back – aside from holidays and such –. He ended up falling for, and marrying, a Scot. But more on that later.
Before that marriage was even considered, Rosemary and Bill’s marriage was reaching twenty-five strange and fantastic years. For their anniversary it was decided that a trip to Switzerland was in order. They drove instead of flew, it being cheaper with the amount of family they were. This one was a good, long holiday. The first week was spent with dear friends, another family of six children. Four adults and twelve children holidaying together. Any chance of peace and quiet that week was long gone.
The second week was a little different. This week Rosemary and Bill found themselves in a little chalet not far from their friend’s house. The only difference now being that Rosemary and Bill were alone, and they could celebrate their wedding anniversary just the two of them. In true Rosemary and Bill fashion they travelled around Switzerland, seeing the sights and discovering for themselves the joys of the beautiful journey.
Then the third week came along and they waved their goodbyes to the lovely Swiss chalet. This week they travelled around Germany, visiting the families of several of the au pairs who had stayed with them and helped them raise their children in England. One of these homes, a beautiful home, wasn’t big enough for eight people so the children all slept outside in tents set up in the back garden while Rosemary and Bill lounged in the warmth and luxury of the home. It was a lovely night of rest and relaxation… for Rosemary and Bill.
The trip was a fun, chaotic one for everyone. But eventually reality had to come knocking and the family of eight piled into their two cars and drove back home to their house in Bedford, and on to Durham and Aberdeen and wherever else they were now. It’s not easy keeping track of the lives of so many of Rosemary’s children.
Stay tuned for more stories from the life of Rosemary. Please note: these stories will not necessarily hold any chronological grounding. They are designed as snippets of understanding into the life of Rosemary and while some will hold chronology, others may not.