A loving granddaughter who was left heartbroken upon learning her grandparents were selling their home of 45 years has immortalized the beloved house in a series of photos for the family.
Maree Miraglia, 27, is a photographer based in southern Utah. Her grandparents, Ruth and Joe, live in Chicago and have been married for 62 years. Their three-story, five-bedroom home with a basement, sunroom, and garden has become the heart of the family.
“My nana ... felt God had brought her to that part of the world,” Ms. Miraglia told The Epoch Times. “They thought the house was so expensive at the time, but really felt that they were called to be there.”
Ms. Miraglia, whose parents got a divorce when she was a child, visited her grandparents every year for summer and Christmas. “That was kind of my sense of consistency,” she said.
When Ruth and Joe told their family in 2022 that they were going to sell their home, the family was shocked and sad but understood their reasons.
“They’re in good health, they’re relocating. None of the family really lives near that house anymore,” Ms. Miraglia said.
As Ms. Miraglia heard the news of the selling of the house, her heart broke. Since there were a lot of beautiful memories of the house, she wanted to take pictures of it for her grandparents.
“[S]o even though the physical house may be gone, we can still have those memories forever,” she said.
The perfect day for a photoshoot arose when the whole family got together at Ruth and Joe’s in July 2022.
“I was kind of nervous that [my nana] wouldn’t love being in front of the camera,” Ms. Miraglia said, “but they were just so cute with each other.”
She also got to take pictures of all her grandparents’ favorite spots around the house including where they liked to read, pictures of sitting on the porch, or by the garage where they would welcome the family or wave goodbye to them each time they left.
Ms. Miraglia was also sure to snap photos in Ruth’s favorite spot—the flower garden—the same spot where she said her photography career began.
Ms. Miraglia describes the pictures that were taken at her grandparents’ home as some of the most “meaningful photos,” that she has ever taken through her career.
“They’re photos that I will be able to look at, as well as show my kids, and show their kids, the rest of my life,” she said.
While the family was together at Ruth and Joe’s, everyone wrote their best memory of the house on a card before sitting in a circle to share their stories. Ms. Miraglia’s cousin, who had lived in the house, described her favorite memory of the house was of giving birth to Ruth and Joe’s great-grandchild and welcoming the child into the house.
For Ms. Miraglia, some of her favorite memories from the house included reading in the sunroom, learning to sew with her grandmother, and her grandfather’s “ducky show” for the kids, using her cousin’s favorite stuffed animal.
Ms. Miraglia said: “There was a lot of tears, a lot of laughter; it was just really beautiful. It was a really good way to say goodbye to the house.”
Ms. Miraglia, who is one of Ruth and Joe’s 15 grandkids, said her grandparents are “very Christian” and have instilled the values of love, kindness, forgiveness, and generosity in the whole family, regardless of faith. It is something she has always admired about them.
Calling Joe one of her best friends, Ms. Miraglia described him as “very extroverted ... very charismatic,” with typically Italian mannerisms and a love for physical affection. Ruth, on the other hand, is “a little more reserved,” but crafty and “very, very thoughtful.”
After six decades of marriage and welcoming four children into their lives, Ruth and Joe are a font of wisdom for their grandchildren.
Ms. Miraglia said: “I think one of the things my grandpa always told me is to listen. ... He said the older you get, the more little things don’t matter as much anymore. ... He says to just forgive and let that stuff go.”
Ruth and Joe plan to sell their home this year. A cousin was originally hoping to buy it, but “circumstances weren’t lining up.” Instead, Ms. Miraglia hopes the new owners will create their own beautiful memories, and “feel all the love that was in there for 40 years.”
“I always knew that their love was consistent,” Ms. Miraglia said of Ruth and Joe, “and I hope that other people can treasure that in their grandparents, or in their families, if they have it.”
In sharing these special memories that revolve around the house, Ms. Miraglia said: “I think about how many years they put into that house into making sure that we all knew how much they loved us.”
