I had just turned six and My Auntie Rosie brought Cathy from Chicago to meet us!
We got up and out the door to go to Mr. FixIt’s eye doctor appointment in plenty of time. When we got there, the doors were locked. Martin Luther King Day? Did we miss something? We checked our calendars again and we both had the same day and time. Mr. FixIt called the doctor’s office and the gal who answered said they called us in November to change the appointment to next month. Neither of us remember getting that call, so we came to town for nothing.
We didn’t let it be a wasted trip, however. We went to Sam’s and the Post Office Box. We went to visit the Former Mrs. FixIt to pick up some cookies she bought for us. Then we went to Michael’s. I’ve seen a new art medium I’m dying to try…Gel Plate Printing. It wasn’t very expensive to get a few supplies and I’ll give it a try. I’ll tell you more about it when I get set up. There are a few things I simply must finish first.
We stopped at Der Dog Haus for a little early supper before we headed home.
My cousin called last evening to give me an update. My sweet Auntie Rosie is in the final days of her life’s journey. She’s now in hospice care so it’s just a matter of time. My mom’s last sister. *sigh* But, what a homecoming she’s going to have! She gets to see my Grandma and PopPop and my mom soon. But most importantly, she gets to meet Jesus face to face! And someday we’ll ALL be together again! We are planning a gathering here in WV to spread some of her ashes with her parents and siblings. We’ll spread some at the farm where she grew up. And we’ll get the cousins together for some love. That will be good for all of us.
The last time I visited with my aunt, she told me when she was old and frail, she didn’t want me to come see her. She wanted me to remember her like she used to be…with vim and vigor. We talked on the phone regularly and we always had stories to share. We laughed and we cried. I am so happy I sent her a copy of the memory book I created after the farm sold so she had all the special old photos and stories. She cherished that and it warms my heart.
Letting go of our elders is sad. With my aunt’s passing…I will become the matriarch of our family. That is sobering. It seems impossible. There’s a lot that’s going to be packed into the next week…and in my next birthday…my 70th. I’m not necessarily sorrowful. I’m introspective and somber. That is normal.
And now…a Bible verse for my bold and brassy Aunt Rosie…travel peacefully, dear one.
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“God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions…..And don’t worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it’s good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.”
1 Timothy 5:21-23 MSG
Now that Drs offices have made the change from paper records to being fully digitized, the younger staff takes so much for granted with their facility in using all the comm. devices and their interconnections. Heck, I still get confused and dazed looking at a bank statement. I barely know how to turn on my fancy 4G iphone, and yet there are “conveniences” built into it that boggle the mind.
We seniors who don’t have family youngsters to help and advise us become dinosaurs that have to be dealt with on our appointment booking calls and followups with office staff. We take up their valuable time with questions that could be answered at a website or by using a QR code. I’m standing on the brink of steady physical decline, and am beginning to mull over the possibility of turning over my affairs to someone more technically inclined. It’s a a scary thought and causes much loss of quality sleep. WHO to trust??
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