I had a veritable plethora of riches concerning aunts and uncles. I am sure I did not realize what treasures I had with these relatives when I was a child, although I WAS aware not all my friends had such a valuable treasure trove of interesting individuals. These relatives ranged from the two uncles who could fix and, would, anything mechanical needing repairing, an uncle who owned a barbershop for a living, but had an award winning quarter horse he would allow us to be with and sometimes ride. Then there were the aunts; one was a terrific seamstress who, late in life, decided to learn how to make pottery, another who made the most extraordinary pumpkin chiffon pie and had the most interesting optical views that, unfortunately, I did not know about until late in her life, and, my Mother’s sister, a woman who was a wonderful entertainer, an equally terrific hostess and, a wonderful teammate in adventures with my Mother.
These women, all individuals in their own right, also ran households, raised children, sometimes also raising grandchildren. They took care of families while husbands were away during various wars, discovering that they were plenty capable of running a household, taking care of family finances and, in general, being very independent human beings. They were great human beings to be with and around. One of th most interesting things I discovered when I was an adult was that they were not just my aunts, but interesting individuals.
Everyone should be so lucky as I.
