Once upon a time, the house had a guest room, with various friends staying within its Valencia lavender walls over the years.
Then, things changed.
It was no fault of the room; life intruded, causing changed family dynamics and less travel by those same friends.
The guest room then became a temporary haven for those needing a new home.
I had known him for a few years, as he was a frequent audience member at the Muse Arts Warehouse as well as various other places.
Then, in 2013, life in his parents' (second) house with his partner became too toxic for him.
So, early in the year, I had invited the kind and gentle Quaker Rogue to move in with me.
He had been sure that he would just need the respite for a month or to.
He was sure that the court case to evict his partner from the house they had shared would move quickly.
Joe wanted me to know for sure that he would not be overstaying his welcome.
By the time AirTran had disappeared into Southwest Airlines and Joe had to transfer to Atlanta to keep his job, it was August 4th, almost the end of summer.
Fortunately, his partner was finally evicted from his parents' house and Joe made frequent trips to do repairs so it could be rented out.
On one such trip, I invited him to a baseball game at Grayson Stadium.
"Well, I guess I need to learn baseball one of these days," he'd said.
What great fun that was!
Oh, yeah - good times!
The guest room remained empty for a few years.
Partly that was because the central air conditioning had died and gone to hell a month or so after he moved from Savannah.
Sure, folks could have come to visit during the cooler periods of fall... but, kids were in school and vacation time was done.
Joe found a mobile air conditioning unit in his storage space, so he gifted that to me the following summer.
I would use it at night, for sleeping comfort, but was okay otherwise.
That was the summer of 2016.
He'd vacated his apartment before he went on sabbatical to New York, knowing he'd need to find new digs after his year there was up.
Those new digs became my place on June 5.
He was here for the solar eclipse that August and through Hurricane Irma the following month.
Well, that was kinda sorta, actually, as he holed up at Erica's of Berwick for that one.
She had just bought the big house and had thought she had a roommate to help defray costs; instead, he opted to take that person's place.
By the start of October, he was settled in there.
Still, he and I had very much enjoyed having those months together.
I think that's why, when he heard that I'd turned to Guest Room into a dance studio, he suggested that I put up some photographs of those who had stayed within its walls.
Good idea!
This one, with the Shades of Purple of him at The Atlantic (a restaurant that's gone), of the two crabs he's given me over the years (not that kind of crab!), and of him performing magic on his wedding day for a friend's kids (and me! I was there!) was the very first to adorn that lavender wall.
Very nice, right?
Did I say rent?
Sure, they'd all paid rent to me, but it was just a nominal fee of $50 per week, with the understanding that I was not a cook.
The room was furnished for Joe and the bfe, but I had cleared everything out for Michael and my twin nieces.
I even moved out of my own bedroom, and into the smaller Ocean Room, so Leila and Alyssa would have plenty of space for their stuff!
That was in November of 2019, a month which became a bit of a nightmare by the time they were actually living with me.
But I made an effort and they all made an effort and so the holidays were very good! We watched "Frosty The Snowman" as a family, the girls helped decorate the Christmas tree, Michael and the twins had a craft day to make nativity sets for gifts, and the girls loved the books I gave them!
Then January of 2020 came and, next thing I knew, they were moving out, going to Guyton to live with my outlaw Melinda.
I had suspected that might happen, as I well knew that Michael needed more help with the girls than I could give; still, it was a heartbreaker for me.
I will say, though, that living with children is so much harder from living with adults.
Just getting children to wash their hands, right?
And to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, right?
So when the coronavirus came and the pandemic began, I admit to a sense of relief that they had moved in with Grammy and Pop, and are still there.
I do miss them, but I'm glad Michael has the help he needs with babysitting...
and I'm glad I'm back in my aquarium bedroom again...
and I love having these pictures to remind me of the life we shared together...
and I'm so glad life has worked out well for all those who took shelter under my roof.
i thank You, God!
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