When I was a young boy, my mom met and later married my step dad. For Christmas, after opening gifts, we would load up in the car and head to my stepdads mothers house. For whatever reason for the first few years (or more), it was a very awkward situation and we were not always made to feel welcome. While my stepdad and his family had dinner, we (my mom, brother and I) would sit in the living room while they had their Christmas dinner. We didnt get much to eat, leftovers or maybe nothing (it was a long ago, so my memory is a little hazy) and my mom was usually quietly upset (which if you knew mom was quite a feat). So every year on our way home we would stop at my aunt Normas. We were always excited, partly because we would get her amazing chicken and noodles (we were starving and her noodles were the best) and also because I thought my cousin Toby was the coolest person I knew and along with my step brother Craig introduced me to rock n roll music. Im sure it was a pain in the ass to have these little guys bugging a teenager on Christmas, but she was cool and treated us as if it was no bother and aunt Norma and Uncle Paul we cool compared to other grow ups we knew. Later, my daughter got the chance to know aunt Norma and as always she was as giving as she was when we were kids. She gave my daughter two beautiful Chinese mud statues that we proudly display in our living room. As she became ill, my daughter had the opportunity to volunteer at the same nursing home aunt Norma was living at. She remembered all of us, even little Leah (not so little anymore, which did confuse her) it was a special moment, that I am so happy I was able to experience. We lost Aunt Norma yesterday and the world is an emptier place without her and I will always remember how she made my Christmas special. As always, I regret I didnt tell her before she passed. So, I wanted to tell someone, anyone, that the world lost someone special yesterday. Toby Fleming Smith
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 02:20:21 +0000
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