Reminiscing

Of all the strange things we go (and grow) through in life, one I’m definitely having a hard time wrapping my mind around is my beautiful, great Aunt Mary Catherine not living in the home I’ve only ever known for her to live in.

Her voice is that of an angel, she is so very humorous, and her kindness cannot be rivaled. You have no idea how much it’s been tried. But I believe she’s embracing her new life in new surroundings near her sons. She joyfully stated apartment living would do until she “ran out of money or ran out of life!” I mentioned running out of patience. We had a good laugh. Alas, her home “is not Boxelder” anymore; yet she maintains a pleasant disposition toward the “old, gray-haired women” whom she says are both nice and sweet, but she’d rather not have so many meals with “a lot of women I don’t remember the names of”. Ditto.

Fortunately, we were able to visit her recently in her new abode. Mini has been asking me for weeks when we were going to see her; unfortunately, it took me entirely too long to actually plan a trip. In reality, her new accommodations are actually closer than where she previously lived (+/- 3 hrs versus 4 hrs). As her birthday is in April (she’ll be 95), I’m hoping our family has a big birthday celebration planned. Remind me to ask them about this.

“Whispering Hope” by Percy Faith is a song she mentioned as one of her favorites. Growing up in the big band, big orchestra years, she shared a story of questioning our hometown’s funeral director why this song wasn’t played at funerals and her expectation that it very well should be. I’m making note of it here as a reminder she has a desire for it to be played when she passes. Her wish is my command. In the meantime, I treasure every hug, every smile, every ‘I love you’ we share.

And, of course, there was a warm blueberry pie awaiting our arrival! Mini ate two pieces. Aunt MC shared another story of when she and my Uncle Jack were newly married and driving up the East Coast, my uncle noticed a roadside stand selling blueberries. At that time, Aunt MC had never eaten a blueberry and didn’t know what one was! Turns out, my uncle loved blueberries and once they became easily located in grocery stores, she had to figure out what to do with them all the time. Introducing the most famous (in my world and family) blueberry pie. Every minute I spend with her is such a blessing and a lesson in our family’s history.

I wish everyone had an Aunt Mary Catherine. But not mine; she’s spoken for.

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I ask you –

Do you have someone in your life like my Aunt MC?

Is there a family recipe you love the most?

On a scale of 1-10, how much do you love blueberries? I’m a 12!