"Nonna has Rug Rage"

This is a story I really do not enjoy telling, but there is good and bad in everything, even family blogs....

I was less than 3 years old at the time. My mother, Aunt Millie and Nonna where going to New York City by train to do food shopping. This was a routine they did once every month or so...they would go to Little Italy for meat, fish and other items...

I was being watched by Aunt Rosette, she was not married yet and still lived with her nonna and it was her job to do all the housework. As they were leaving Nonna turned to Aunt Rosette and told her to clean the house and wash the clothes and as she walked out the door she said "DO NOT CUT THE RUGS".....I remember that as clear as a bell...it is amazing how some things stay with us forever....

Aunt Rosette was doing her cleaning chores and I saw she had a pair of scissors in her, she bent down and began to trim the edges of the scatter rugs which were placed in various spots in various rooms...I realize now that the edges were frayed and she wanted to trim and clean them up...she cut no more than a 1/4 inch of unraveling yarn and they looked good.....when she was done she told me not to tell Nonna..I said okay.....

Hours later the shoppers returned carrying many shopping bags of meat and other food items....while they were unpacking the food, I said to my mother...Aunt Rosette cut the rugs...not realizing that my grandmother could hear me...all of a sudden I saw she had a heavy pot in her hand and with one wild swing she threw it and hit Aunt Rosette in the back of the head, screaming, "I told you not to do that"....My Mom and Aunt Millie tried to calm her down, poor Aunt Rosette was crying and I started to cry really not knowing what was going on....I remember Aunt Rosette went into the bedroom and sat in the corner and was rubbing her head and sobbing.....my grandmother calmed down and continued to do her thing with the food...My Mom and Aunt Millie took me into the bedroom and they told me I should not have said what I did, then they told me to tell my aunt I was sorry.....I was so upset I went over to her and started to cry. Aunt Rosette still crying hugged me and said that it was okay.....I think that was my first lesson in keeping your word and being careful of where and what you say because you never know who can hear you....many, many years later I apologized to my aunt and she laughed and said it was worth it, the rugs really looked good..we both laughed and hugged...