Three Special People In My Life

There have been three special people in my life that I have bonded and grown as a person with.  Without these people, I probably would not be who I am today.  They each have shown me a sense of humor, strength and love.  These people are my mother’s three sisters.  My aunties Lupie, Irene and Isabel. 

        My Auntie Isabel was a petite, short-haired woman.  Her hair was always done with actual pin-curls.  She was not heavy when she was young, but became full-bodied with age.  She was always dressed very nice.  Even when she didn’t feel good, she looked great.  My Auntie Isabel was a very structured person and my mother was not.  My Auntie Isabel was also very domestic and showed me how to knit and crochet.  When I was growing up I always admired that all the women in my family was always very done up and always had the lastest in lipstick and nail colors, which I felt was so feminine.  But my Auntie Isabel was an Avon lady and was always wearing the latest in makeup.  Unfortunately, my Auntie found out she had cancer, and even through her tough days, she would still do her hair and makeup.  When I was small she use to babysit my brother and I and would act as our D.J., playing the records and recording us with her camera.  She would even pay us to dance a whole record.  I remember her favorite song was “Pretty Woman,” and to me she will always be the “Pretty Woman” in my life.  My Auntie Isabel passed away seven years ago, just two months after my mother.  I miss them both very much.

        My Auntie Lupie was the quiet one of the family. She was very petite and had short black hair, but her hair was a little fuller.  She had the old-school hair do that required rollers just about every night.  She would even sleep with her rollers. But as quiet as she was, she did have her opinions.  My mother and my Auntie were very close, and we were also close to her husband, my Uncle Frank.  We had a lot of fun times with our get togethers.  Since my Auntie only had one son, my sisters and I were like the daughters they never had.  Growing up my Auntie showed me how to play different board games, and she was really good at Scrabble.  Later, when I was older, I would gift to her different editions of Scrabble and would look forward to playing with her.  I learned a lot from my Auntie when it came to words and their uses within my vocabulary and the placement on the game board, as well. When it came to her sense of humor, she was very witty.  She was always challenging me with an excuse that it was for my own good.  She, too, passed away, a year ago, and that has left a big void in my life, since I always turned to her for questions regarding cooking to shopping, because she knew it all.

        My Auntie Irene was the fun one of the family.  She was kind of tall and slender when I was growing up.  Her hair was long and sometimes short, it all depended upon the fashion and her mood.  She was also the one that would always praise and encourage me to do different things, and to try different jobs.  Her motto was, “You will never know what you are good at if you don’t try something new.”  As far as she was concerned I could do anything I wanted to, and I should do it all.  I was often told that I resembled my aunt a lot, and I felt that was such a compliment, since I thought my auntie was very pretty.  But, when my auntie lost her husband in an accident, she became very sad.  As much as she tried to be happy and go on with her life, the sadness overcame her.  I felt so helpless when she would ask me for help and I would go with her to see different attorneys regarding the lawsuit against the person who caused the death of my uncle. But not even winning her case did that make a difference in her depression.  As much as I knew it wouldn’t, I still continued to push forward.  My auntie’s depression worsened, and this past March she passed away, having suffered  Alzheimer’s and just withered away to nothing.  I will never forget my Auntie and her praises, which I have tried to use as a model with my own daughter and nieces.

I cherish the memories I have of my mother and my aunties.  And I try to share with my daughter and nieces stories of when we use to get together with everyone.  We now are making our own memories, and it is a lot of fun.