Leaving behind memories

Once again I am writing about the loss of someone very dear to me. This time though it wasn’t just one person, it was two.

 First was my Aunt June, my Mother’s baby sister she was 73. She died quite suddenly and unexpectedly.  I had to listen to the voice message several times to be sure I heard it right. I was stunned.  I had just received a postcard from her reminding me about the upcoming family reunion, she had even penned a note to it saying she hoped to see those two beautiful kids of mine.  How could this be? I would be seeing her in less than two months.  Now she is gone.

Less than a week later my Uncle Truman passed away. He also was my Mom’s sibling, one of the older ones at 92 years. His health had been declining in recent years and had he had become seriously ill since falling and breaking his hip a week before. I never had the opportunity to become as close to him as I was several other aunts and uncles since he lived in California for most of my life. I do know this though, that the time I did spend with him was always so much fun. He never failed to make a good impression on me no matter how young I was or how old.

The loss of these two did leave me quite sad. I thought about them so much in the days that followed. I would think about the times I spent with them mostly as a child or teen. The many funny things that happened, the times I was cared for by my Aunt or how as a little kid I was probably very annoying wanting their attention. I can still remember the first time I met my Uncle Truman, I was a preschooler still and I was so excited to meet him that I think I was hanging off of him for several days. I think I was determined to be his favorite niece before he departed Texas to return to California. I was never a shy child and pretty much talked constantly, I used to drive everyone bonkers.  As I thought about them I thought about what I would miss, but my thoughts always turned to memories. I then realized that in the busyness of life they had both slipped away to being someone I would see once every few years at the reunion or see on a facebook post. There wouldn’t be a void in my daily life as there was when those much closer passed away. What I had in my life from my aunt and uncle were memories, beautiful memories that I will always have.  These memories will be touched with sadness now as I think of the loss that accompanies them, but also a fondness of the times that were.

For each one I wanted to share just one brief story.

It was early summer and I ( who at the time was maybe 4 years old) was visiting my Aunt June, Uncle Charles and my very young (at the time) cousin Todd. It was dinnertime and I had eaten my fill and went to get up and go back to playing. My aunt quickly told me to sit back down and ask to be excused first. I looked at her and questioningly said.” What? I don’t have to do that at home.” She replied you are not at home and here you ask to be excused, if you don’t you will have to sit here until everyone else has finished and left the table. So being a red-headed irish lass I sat there very stubbornly until I was the last one left. I’m not sure what either of us learned that day except we were both equally stubborn.

As I mentioned above I didn’t get to spend much time with my Uncle Truman but I do recall in 1975 while I was in high school I went to California with my parents and got to spend nearly two weeks with my aunt and uncle. We got to do lots of fun things while there and I really loved the beautiful home they had. In the evenings the adults would go sit outside while I stayed in preferring to read. Uncle Truman would be sure to keep my parents occupied outside long enough for my Aunt Helen to sneak me a glass of wine. What a treat! I was sixteen at the time and I felt that Aunt Helen and Uncle Truman had to be the coolest adults on the planet.

I will always think of these two with such fondness of the times we shared I want them to know that they left me with great memories that will last forever.  This is what we should all hope for.