AUNTIE

The oldest living person in our family (that we really like) is my mother’s sister, my Aunt Betty.  And she is a marvel.  Aunt Betty never married, I’m not sure why as she did have proposals, so I was slightly doted on by her (which never bothered me one little bit).  She has a PhD in Housing and Interior Design from Florida State and has taught at Virginia Tech and UGA—a couple of other places too but these are the two biggies and the ones that I often visited.  No matter where Aunt Betty was, she always, without fail, came home for Christmas and to go with us to the beach every summer for vacation.  And she always took time to do special things with me from letting me stay with her for a weekend to taking me to Six Flags over Georgia to a trip to Washington, DC.  My favorite trip was when she had completed studying in Nevada and had my grandmother and me fly out not only for a visit but to drive us back to SC just so we could see some of the US.  We went to Lake Tahoe for dinner one day and I was amazed at the mountains being covered in snow in the summer.  She took us to the Golden Nugget in Reno and we saw Liberace.  I was only 12, but I remember that he was the funniest, most talented person I had ever seen.  When it was time to leave and drive back, she took us into California.  We went into the Redwood National Park and I was completely in awe of those big trees.  I took roll after roll of film just of the giant Redwoods.  She took us to Disney Land in Anaheim, CA.  We had the BEST time!  It was 1970 and one of the big things for women was wigs.  And Aunt Betty was wearing one when we visited Disneyland.  She got on to ride Space Mountain with me and as the employee was explaining certain things about the ride, Aunt Betty asked, “Will my wig fall off?”  She rode with one hand holding onto her wig!  She took us through the Redwood National Forest.  She drove us just into Mexico so that we could say we went there.  It was the dirtiest little town I’ve ever seen but I loved it.  I bought my mother some Spanish lace there.  She took us to the Grand Canyon and we were simply amazing by it.  We went through Texas where we stayed a few days with one of Aunt Betty’s friends from Florida State.  I’ve never seen such flat land before or so many cattle (steers?) nor have I ever been so HOT.  We drove through a thunder storm that produced to best light show I’ve ever seen to this very day.  It was one LONG drive to get through Texas.  We went through Helen, GA and Gatlinburg, TN and I am still in love with both of those quaint towns.  She took us to Old Salem in Winston Salem, NC and to the Biltmore House.  We saw so many beautiful sights on this trip and I have never forgotten it.   Aunt Betty took us to places she thought we would enjoy the most, and we did.  (I still have some of the photos from the trip but none are scanned into my computer and that takes forever because my computer can be a stubborn cuss).

Aunt Betty continued the tradition with my daughters.  She always took all of them every summer on trips to NC: Biltmore House, Old Salem,  Lake Junaluska, Tweetsie (UGH…LOL), Cherokee Indian Reservation, Discovery Place; in GA: Helen, Epworth by the Sea, Callaway Gardens, St. Simons, Unicoi State Park; in TN: Gatlinburg, Dollywood; in VA:  Williamsburg; in SC:  Christmas Tea at Winthrop University, Kings Mountain, Brattonsville…

 All those experiences were fantastic.  But what kind of person is Aunt Betty besides one who thinks her niece and great-nieces should have travel experiences?  She’s the person who will drop whatever it is she’s in the middle of and come to your aid.  She’s the person who stopped everything when Granddaddy died and stayed with Grandmother until she passed.  She’s the relative and friend who comes to stay with you at the hospital instead of visiting for an hour and going home.  She’s the person who is always thinking of everyone else and never herself.  She’s the person who takes care of plants and animals like they were people and she treats people like they are saints.  She’s the person who takes food to someone’s house when they are not well or have lost a loved one- and stays to clean up after the other visitors.  She’s nonjudgmental and she loves unconditionally.  She’s the person who gives and gives until she has nothing left and then goes and finds something and gives that as well.  She’s a friend, a sister, an aunt, a daughter, a teacher, a student—of life.  She’s a conversationalist.  She’s thrifty.  She’s patient.  She’s a Methodist.  And she loves soap operas. 

Aunt Betty is one of the most wonderful people I know.  Although she will tell you that she is blessed by us, we all know that we are the ones truly blessed to have her in our lives .   

Aunt Betty and Mother

Aunt Betty on Christmas Eve sometime in the early 60s

Mother and Aunt Betty, Christmas Eve- early 70s

Aunt Betty, Grandmother, and Mother 1990

        

This is the 29th day of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) for the month of March. The theme for this month is: in a word! My chosen word for today is: AUNTIE and is based on today's prompt: Who's the oldest living person in your family? How much do you know about him or her?