Saturday Surprise!

Edy and George on their honeymoon in 1947

Today I decided to call our former neighbors back in Pennsylvania, as they have a son who lives in Houston, Texas, with his family. I had been up watching the Weather Channel and CNN News during the night about Hurricane Ike hitting that area. I had to know if he and his family were safe. We had lived next door to this wonderful family for over 16 years...16 years 4 months and 6 days to be exact. We saw their children go through high school, college and get married. Those were some of the best years of our married life...living next door to people who were as much family to us as they were friends. So, I was kind of caught off guard when I heard a voice, different than the one I was expecting to hear, answer the phone today. It was their older son, Dana, the one who lives in Houston! They are safe, their home was not damaged, but they did lose some fencing, and their pool had overflowed during the hurricane. He told me he is now retired, as is his wife, and they have been spending the summer months in Pennsylvania with their folks! What a nice surprise to actually get to talk to the person I was calling to inquire about !!! Anyhow, we chatted a while, catching up on each other's children, etc. His parents aren't into email, so he said he would show them my blog this evening when they return from an outing. Dana and I decided that we are going to keep in closer touch from now on.

While I am on the subject of these very dear friends, I must tell you all that this is the lady from whom I have acquired probably 99% of all my recipes throughout the years! Edy was always into baking, canning, cooking, rug hooking, quilting....you name it, she did it!!! And she did it well, too!!!! She has made some beautiful things. She taught me so much! We used to sun together, swim together, shop together, sew together, pick apples together, and have a cool drink (or two) together under the shade of her big birch tree, too! Edy was always ready to travel whenever I took the kids to visit the orthodontist in another town, too. We shared some fun times together! She was like a second mother to me. I can remember having surgery one time, and she provided suppers for my family and came to visit me every afternoon. One day, she laid down on my bed with me and actually fell asleep! As I said, she was like a second mother to me.

Her hubby, George, was our local postmaster in our town there. Everyone knew George! And everyone respected his opinion, too. We depended on him so much, being young marrieds starting out in our newly-constructed home with yardwork to do that we really knew nothing about. George got us started on the right track, that's for sure! He knew how to do anything and everything, and we knew how to do...well, not too much! He taught us right, no doubt about that! We could never thank him enough if we tried! We were truly blessed with this wonderful, happy, fun-loving couple as our next-door neighbors! We shared a lot of laughs and fun times during those 16 years 4 months and 6 days!

George and Edy now

They had 3 children...a daughter and 2 sons. Their younger son, who was in high school at the time, was the best babysitter we ever had! The kids didn't give him any trouble at all. We always felt good leaving them in his care, and knowing that his parents were right next door, too. We had the best of all worlds while living there. My mother's family all lived in that town, too, so it was really a great life for us.

Edy and I had such a close relationship that we could pop in at each other's home for coffee whenever, or just sit on the patio and chit-chat anytime. Some nights we would combine our leftovers and share supper together on our patio. Other times, wrap up warm and sit by the fire and roast hotdogs and marshmallows. Those were just the best times!

Then, one day my husband came home and asked how I would like to live in South Carolina. I couldn't believe my ears! All I could think of was having to leave our home that I loved and my family and friends that I loved. It was just a total shocker, believe me! We knew we had to accept the job offer as we had a daughter just finishing up her second year of college, and our son was just a few weeks away from graduating from high school, who also would be attending college that Fall. If you have ever had to move and leave your loved ones behind, then you know the inner turmoil we felt. It made for many sleepless nights and many teary-eyes days, not to mention that we worked the entire summer sorting and cleaning out 16 years' worth of "stuff" that we had accumulated! I started selling furniture, as after we made the trip to South Carolina and had found a new home, we had ordered new furniture to be delivered when we got moved. It was a hectic summer, but these wonderful neighbors were there for us every step of the way. They were, and still are, a great family!!!

After they retired, George and Edy spent their winters in Florida and would always stop and spend some days with us on their way back north. George liked to walk alot, so Edy and I would head to the movies or go shopping. I have truly missed the fun times with this wonderful couple.

Some days, I wish I could go back in time 25 years ago......we have been here in South Carolina now for 24 years this past August. Now that I am alone, I don't get home often enough. I was talking to my son earlier this afternoon, and he said, "We need to go 'home' again, Mom." I agree. I guess he gets as homesick as I do.