Susan Rogers - nuclear family

Partying Parents

After almost 30 years of marriage, my parents were still enjoying each other's company, as you can see in the photo (right).  At home, Larry and Tess unfailingly showed respect for each other; they appeared to us children to meet each other's every expectation. 

My father cleared the table after every meal; he put away "the perishables," and he did the food shopping Saturday mornings, often accompanied by me.  He never forgot a birthday or anniversary, and my mother always had dinner ready at 5 p.m. The household ran smoothly.   

When I asked my father how he happened to take up with my mother, he replied, "Your mother was the most beautiful woman around."  He had noticed her in high school, years before they met officially at a Civil Service exam.  It was a rainy day in the midst of the Great Depression. 

After the exam, he asked her if she would like to go to the library with him, and she agreed, even though she had a bad cold.

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Of the hundreds of photos of my parents, this one, taken at a
party in Denver, Colorado, in 1967, has long been a favorite. 

Larry and Tess shared a love for the theater.  After my brother and I were grown and had moved away, they would take out theater subscriptions for an entire season.  "That way," my father explained, "the expense  hurts just once, when you're writing a single check."

Only recently did my brother share our dad's philosophy about how to ensure a happy marriage:  "Marry a woman who is smarter than you; and then, listen to her!"