My Aunt, Strong Southern Woman

My heart is heavy this afternoon.  One of my family, my aunt is very ill.  I visited her in the hospital yesterday and I know this will be the last time I see her.  On the drive home I could not help but remember all the things I had done with this lady in my lifetime.

She celebrated her 90th birthday in March.  She has led a very interesting life.  Born in Atlanta and lived in Georgia all her life.  When she was a teenager she had her own bluegrass band in which she played the guitar and sang and they were on the radio every week. She was from a musical family and when together my mom would play the piano and their late brother would play the guitar and they would all sing.  How I wish I could hear the three of them sing one more time.  She married young and started a family.  Her husband served in the army during WWII and my aunt worked at Bell Bomber Plant in Marietta, GA as a riveter.  Her photo is featured in the book Images of America: The Bell Bomber Plant by Joe Kirby (www.arcadiapublishing.com).  She raised three children with her husband and worked several more jobs after the war.

I wanted to be at her house any chance I got.  I was close to my cousin and she was like a sister to me.  We vacationed together and during the summers I was spending the night at her house or she was at mine. My aunt would take us shopping and we would "lunch" at the counter of the Woolworth's.  A dollar would pay for a day long adventure.  My only close encounter with a hurricane was with her, my uncle and cousin in Jacksonville Beach when I was about 10 years old.  Got out of town fast!

Over thirty years ago she beat cancer.  A strong woman she loved to garden and feed the birds.  We often talked about gardening and I think I got the love of the land from all the women in my family.
As she aged I saw her less but would send her cards and special things for birthdays and Christmas.  I know she is tired and ready to go on to be with her loved ones.  She is taking a part of my heart and I will miss her.

One thing I know, I am the woman I am today in part because of her.  I hope she knows how much I love her, how much I admire her and how much I will treasure the times we spent together.  I talked about her in my first blog - I consider her one of my "three moms" - my real one, my grandmother and my aunt.  Families who have that connection are blessed.   

So here is to Mary Etta.  Southern lady, musician, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, sister, daughter and beloved aunt.