So, last week, my Aunt Mary died. It was sudden and unexpected. I feel bad, but truthfully, I don't feel bad for me so much as my uncle and cousins. I will miss her, to be sure - but they will suffer far more than I will.
That said, she was Dad's sister, and that makes it a bit tougher. They held a small service and gathering for her on Friday. I went, and it was sad but nice.
They had a slideshow that they had made for her 70th birthday (seven years ago) and it was just a lot of great photos and music. They had also recorded greetings from family, and I got to hear my Dad's voice. That was hard.
The whole thing was hard. But I'm two years in, so my grief for having lost a parent is not quite so raw as my cousins', which is less than a week old. I also had time to prepare. Mary complained of a headache last Monday evening. She suffered a massive brain aneurysm went into a coma, and was gone the following evening. Her family had gathered, and that was it.
So, it's different for them than it was for me.
But Dad and Mary were about a year apart in age, and that kind of ends an era.
So here's a story about them.
When my grandmother died, we were getting her house cleaned out. She had left the house to one of my cousins who was going to move in. So, there was this huge portrait of Mary and Dad's cousin, Walter. My grandmother had always been better to Walter than my Dad, so as a parting shot, Mary put this portrait of Walter in Dad's trunk. That Christmas, he put it in a big, gaudy frame and regifted it to her.
And that started a several year exchange of Walter related gifts. They made puzzles, shirts, Christmas ornaments.
Walter last appeared as a thumbnail image in an invitation she created for my Bridesmaids' luncheon back in 2005.
It is the end of an era. That's about all I can say.
ae
That said, she was Dad's sister, and that makes it a bit tougher. They held a small service and gathering for her on Friday. I went, and it was sad but nice.
They had a slideshow that they had made for her 70th birthday (seven years ago) and it was just a lot of great photos and music. They had also recorded greetings from family, and I got to hear my Dad's voice. That was hard.
The whole thing was hard. But I'm two years in, so my grief for having lost a parent is not quite so raw as my cousins', which is less than a week old. I also had time to prepare. Mary complained of a headache last Monday evening. She suffered a massive brain aneurysm went into a coma, and was gone the following evening. Her family had gathered, and that was it.
So, it's different for them than it was for me.
But Dad and Mary were about a year apart in age, and that kind of ends an era.
So here's a story about them.
When my grandmother died, we were getting her house cleaned out. She had left the house to one of my cousins who was going to move in. So, there was this huge portrait of Mary and Dad's cousin, Walter. My grandmother had always been better to Walter than my Dad, so as a parting shot, Mary put this portrait of Walter in Dad's trunk. That Christmas, he put it in a big, gaudy frame and regifted it to her.
And that started a several year exchange of Walter related gifts. They made puzzles, shirts, Christmas ornaments.
Walter last appeared as a thumbnail image in an invitation she created for my Bridesmaids' luncheon back in 2005.
It is the end of an era. That's about all I can say.
ae
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