Page 551 - WhyAsInY

sWeet sixteen
had our own lives and managed to live in 16 Church Lane South from the ages of forty-two and forty-five to the ages of fifty-six and fifty-nine, both respectively and respectfully. And, believe it or not, we actually dealt with things other than the affairs of our offspring. (Even though David went off to college, Kathy and I spent five more years in a suppos- edly “empty nest,” which nevertheless remained a magnet for all of the children.)
I’ll therefore deal with our stay in Scarsdale in segments that are not chronological but are thus easier to read (or skip, if that is your plea- sure). The events that don’t relate directly or entirely to the children concern—and, I hasten to add, not necessarily in the order of their importance—our pets, our parents, the physical improvements that we made to the house, our fitness habits (such as they were), and our careers, insofar as they related to Church Lane South. I will, however, first turn my attention back to the kids, who truly were the center of our universe (and, together with their kids, still are).
Kid(s) Around
I know that I already painted a picture of our somewhat frenetic moving day elsewhere (Chapter Twenty-Seven) and ended it with the fateful “It’s all over” phone call from Allen Rothman of Coronet. But there was one other dislocating event that day, one that significantly increased the pressure that was on us. I mentioned earlier how our quest for our new home entailed the unfulfilled wish that we would find a house with four substantially identical bedrooms for the kids. The idea was that my chil- dren should not feel significantly slighted when they visited and stayed over, something that I hoped would occur with frequency. But the rooms were very unevenly matched, and we bit the bullet: Daniel and David, who would always be staying with us, were therefore awarded the two big bedrooms that were available for the kids, with Daniel, who had the smaller room in Great Neck, getting the bigger room (and, incidentally, my platform bed) in Scarsdale. Well, the best laid plans. . . .
• 533 •