Friday, 15-Nov-2019

I had been way too long since we’d visited Massachusetts to see family.

I mean, yes, we’d been there for Daniel and Erin’s wedding back in May, but that doesn’t quite count… we did see people, but it was a side-effect from the wedding, and not that actual goal.  We didn’t get to really visit with my Grandma, or hang out in Medway, or any of that.  We still owed everyone a good visit, and I very much intended to deliver on that promise.

We flew out, and visited!

Unfortunately, Sarah was a little bit under the weather after the flights and all the snacks we had after landing, and so she wasn’t able to make it – It was just a “Mom, Grandma, and Ben” adventure this time.

We’d come up with a few different places that we could go visit – various museums and parks around Mass – but ended up choosing the Rose Art Museum on Brandeis University’s campus… it’s a much smaller museum, but that was kind of perfect for what we were looking for, honestly.  It was close in to Lexington, didn’t have a ton of walking, and had a good parking lot right near the entrance… in short, ideal for bringing Grandma to!

Everything went well, so no real excitement to report there…. but the museum itself is absolutely worth mentioning.  It’s a really interesting space; quite small, and not over-filled with exhibits, I think there were four or five unique exhibits total, at most.  Of those, though, were some really good gems that I’d absolutely recommend seeing – especially the smallest of them all, a little replica of a livingroom from the 50s or 60s.

The living room was honestly my favorite because of how simple, yet thorough it was.  There was a docent nearby who helped us make ourselves at home by putting on a record, and giving us a quick tour of the various items on the shelves… exactly like any host would when you first walked into their home.  My Grandma and Mom both commented on how everything just made sense, and that even the smell was right for what they remembered.  It was my favorite type of thing; something clean, simple, and yet surprisingly detailed.

Anyways, the museum aside, the rest of the visit was lovely.  My Aunt Irene and Uncle Bill were able to come and join us for dinner, which was lovely.  Then we all looked through a few various photo albums that my Grandma has, one of which was an album my Aunt had made for her 16th birthday – it was really neat to step back in time twice in the same day, to roughly the same time period, and be able to hear such detailed accounts of life.  I loved it.