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.
Rosemary’s first year in Colorado was truly a year of firsts. She had by this point moved across multiple continents and had experienced the sensation of ‘first’ many times. There was the first child, the first Christmas in Iran, the first Christmas in Australia, the first time she moved, her first plane journey, etc, etc.
P.S. the first Christmas in the USA was particularly enjoyable. All the children flew in and they celebrated the first of many Christmases in the giant downstairs room, by the fireplace, with the Christmas tree stuffed between the sofa and the chair. At least three generations of the family have celebrated Christmas there, maybe even four.
But the truth is, the firsts never got old, and she never truly got used to them. One of these later firsts she remembers from her time in Colorado was the first driving test, although probably not for the reasons you would think.
Rosemary had been putting it off for months. She was allowed to drive on her UK license for a year and it wasn’t until the 11th month of that year that she applied to take the test.
The test itself wasn’t too bad. The large roads of Colorado were a welcome relief to someone used to driving in the UK. Plus she had spent 11 months driving in this country already so she was used to the way things were.
No, it was not the test so much that caused the memory to be so strong in her mind, but rather what happened afterwards. She arrived home and Bill promptly told her he had booked her a flight back to England for that night.
Her father was dying. Rosemary’s sister had called and Bill had immediately made the arrangements.
So Rosemary, probably still getting over the nerves of the test, packed up quickly and boarded the plane to England. She flew direct and landed early the next morning before rushing to the hospital.
It was a good thing she left when she did, because only an hour after arriving to her father’s side did he pass. She was so thankful to have arrived in time, to have held his hand one last time. He couldn’t see her but he knew she was there, and Rosemary got to say one final goodbye.
She stayed in England for a short while to help with and attend the funeral. Bill surprised her by flying over for the weekend of the funeral and standing by her side. It was a lovely ceremony. Rosemary’s mother had already passed some time before. Now Rosemary was the eldest direct descendant of the family tree.
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.