The Compound

My husband and I and our three kids live with my Italian immigrant in-laws in Flushing, Queens. The house has three bedrooms all on the second floor. My in-laws have their bedroom at the back of the house. My husband and I have his sisters' old room at the front of the house, and our three kids are in the middle room that he used to share with his brother. The house is bursting its seams and I am happier now than I was when we were living in our custom built four bedroom house a few miles east. 


Right next door to my in-law's house is Zia's house. Zia, which means Aunt in Italian, is my mother-in-law's elder sister. She defines old school. Tragically widowed shortly after her wedding day, Zia has no children of her own and not once in all the years since did it occur to her to remarry. And one interesting tidbit that you'll just have to take my word for, is that Zia has dreams that foretell the sex of babies. Really.  


The elder of my husband's two sisters and her family live next door with Zia. They have been there for a couple of years saving money to buy a house of their own. Their stay, like ours, has been prolonged because of the current economy. 


Right after we moved in, my father-in-law did something very out of character. He made a home improvement. He found someone to come and replace the old chain link fence that went partially around his property with a professionally built shiny black aluminum fence. He insisted that the new fence be totally child-proof so his five young grandchildren would be safe running and playing between the two houses. Nonno gets the credit for creating the Compound on 189th Street.