Rosalie

I grew up in Kansas City Missouri.  In the hood, basically.  But it wasn't so much when I was little as it is now.  I could actually ride my bike up and down the street, and now, I would be a little nervous driving down that same street. 
I don't exactly remember how I met Rosalie, but I will never forget the time I spent at her house, and going everywhere with her.  She lived a few houses down from us, and I was there all the time...during the summer months especially.  She was the nanny for a very wealthy couple that lived an extremely affluent neighborhood on the other side of KC.  They were both doctors and had 2 kids, one girl and one boy, and Rosalie was just crazy about them.  I would go with her every once in a while to drop them off at their house...their big, beautiful multi-million dollar house.  I always remember thinking that it smelled like wood flooring.  She would pick them up every morning and bring them back to her house, and I would wander down the street to see if they were there.  Sometimes, the little girl would come to my house to see if I could come down and play.  I spent hours every day there, and we would watch movies, help Rosalie garden, and play with her dogs.  She would often take us to Oceans of Fun (a huge water park)...since we all had season passes every year, or to the country club pool that the 2 kids' parents belonged to.  I don't know that my mom paid her, or even asked her to take care of me.  My mom was always at work, and my grandma lived with us, so I don't even know if my mom exactly knows how much I was at Rosalie's.  I'm sure she would know if Rosalie took me anywhere...  Anyway, the point is, I spent alot of time with her, and she was always so wonderful to me.  She still lives in the neighborhood I grew up in, and it worries me, but I don't think she'll ever move. 

I don't know if I can even properly describe her.  The thing about Rosalie is that she's VERY eccentric.  She's the sweetest lady you would ever want to meet, but oh my, she is different.  Mike describes her as being overly dramatic about EVERYTHING!!!  For instance, when she arrived at my house for the party (remember, this is the first time I have seen her in almost 9 years), she just stood in the doorway almost crying, and just kept saying over and over, "Oh Sarah, is that really you?  I can't believe this!  I can't believe I'm seeing you!"  She walked around my house, and every room she would go in, she would make the biggest deal out of it saying things like "Oh my, it's perfect!"  "This is just wonderful, Sarah!"  (ummm...our house is pretty much the direct opposite of perfect, what with all the drawings on the walls from our little artists...dirty carpets...mismatched furniture...things like that.)  But it was all delightful to her.  Even if she doesn't mean it, oh my, she makes you believe she does.  And I really think she does mean everything she says.  She always calls me her girl.  She always has, come to think of it.  I know she is so happy to see me married and raising 5 kids.  She was never married, and never had any kids.  The whole time she was here, she was super involved with the kids, and she was constantly trying to help clean or help take care of the baby.  She just went on and on about how much she just loved being here and seeing us.  She kept offering to babysit anytime I wanted her to.  The last time I talked to her on the phone, I mentioned our trip to Disney World, and she told me that she would love to ride with us to the airport to see us off.  At one point, she was down in our family room and saw our chase we have down there...she mentioned that if she ever slept over, she could just sleep on that.  I know she just wants to be involved in our lives.  I don't think she has any family around, or really anyone that she's involved with alot.  I told Mike that I want to invite her over for dinner maybe once a week or every other week, and invite her to all of the kids' birthdays...things like that.  She also asked if she could get the kids a parakeet.  We're still thinking about that one.  We have no cage or anything, but I'm pretty sure if she gave us one, she would provide the housing and all that for us.  She's a huge animal lover, too! 

I'm so glad my mom ran into her at the store.  I hope she'll continue to be a part of our lives.  She was so good with me when I was little, and I want my kids to benefit from her being in their lives.

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.