We call it “The Kid’s Wing”, that part of the house that has always been bedrooms relegated to our kids or their cousins/guests, etc. The wing has three bedrooms and one separate bath in the hall.

Full disclosure : over the years, we’ve allowed the kid’s wing to NOT keep pace with the balance of the house with respect to renovations, upgrades etc. The kids seem none the worse for it. They’re not irreparably scarred.

We’re in the process right now of renovating the bathroom which brings to mind a bit of humorous nostalgia. There is an original (1940s) pine door to this bathroom that has always had a quirky latch. Not consistently, but occasionally a user of the bathroom, having locked it after entry, would have difficulty opening the door to exit.

That unfortunate user would then have to knock on the door or more forcefully bang on the door, such that those elsewhere inside the house would hear and come let the poor soul out.

If there was a party happening in the house, this instance could be problematic. Revelers would not here the sequestered door banger, no matter how loud their banging was. This happened to our neighbor’s daughter, Sarah, who found no other choice than to open the bathroom window and jump out to the ground.

Fortunately, for Sarah, ours is a single story house so, her descent wasn’t life threatening. Nonetheless, it was an incident she won’t forget, perhaps something from her own lore that she’ll occasionally share with grandkids.

Meanwhile, the damned latch was always one of those little nagging items on the Honey Do list that never garnered my undivided attention… until now, 40 odd years later. Oh well, any day now !