Monday, July 18, 2011

remembering Aunt Kay...

Over the weekend we had a family reunion of sorts...a rather impromptu one. 


We gathered as a family at the cemetery...to bury Aunt Kay.  The weather was seemingly appropriate...


...damp, drizzly and dreary.  Later in the day...we gathered at the church for a memorial service...a time of remembrance.  And what a good time it was!  Aunt Kay would have liked it...that  I know. 

Two years ago...we celebrated Uncle George and Aunt Kay's 60th wedding anniversary.  I pictured them walking down the road into the sunset together...and hoped it would be a long and happy stroll.  In December Aunt Kay learned that she had inoperable cancer...and so she knew her days were numbered.  But she made the most of them!  I last visited her in her home a few months ago...and she was busy making blankets for her first great-grandchild due in July.  Though she had every intention of meeting the new family member...she thought she should complete her projects while she still felt up to it.  The baby is due to arrive any day.  Aunt Kay never got to meet her first great-grand.  Instead she was called home on the spur of the moment...and most of us never had a chance to bid her farewell.    But we know she is in a better place...and one day there will be a family reunion there...unlike any here on earth!  For now...we are left with the memories.


I found an old photo in our archives...of my uncle and aunt taken sometime in the 70's as they toured Europe with my parents. Uncle George and Aunt Kay lived on a farm just down the road from us when I was growing up.  And so I have fond memories of time spent at their place...sleepovers in a tent, building forts on the ditch bank, watching TV in their living room well before we had one at home, and enjoying good food at Aunt Kay's table.  In those days they looked rather like they do in the photo above.

Over these last years, her grandkids were the love her her life.  I often met Aunt Kay at the fabric store...always buying supplies to sew something special for her granddaughters.  She also showered others with her hand-made gifts.  When our twin granddaughters were born almost ten years ago...Aunt Kay made them each a fleece baby blanket.  For some reason those became Emme and Spencer's favorite blankees and they couldn't sleep without them for many years.  The fleece became pilled...the teddy bear pattern faded...but the blankets got better with age (so the girls thought).  They still have their blankees...and when I told their mom that Aunt Kay had passed away she said, "Aw.  I must tell the girls.  They will sleep with their blankees tonight."  


Aunt Kay is gone.  Uncle George now walks alone.  Lynn and John, Pat, Randy and Cindy, and Brenda and Matt will no longer be gathering around the table to enjoy their mom's cooking.  Goeff, Greg, Deb and Gary, Stephanie and Kayanne will miss their grandmother's prayers.  But they all have wonderful memories.



They grieve...but not as those who have no hope!

 

14 comments:

  1. What a sweet post. I had to return in the middle to the former post and discovered that it was new to me. Our aunties have such an important role in our lives. It is good to know that yours is safely home where no more troubles can reach her. May each family member know the comfort of God and most especially may her beloved be comforted. Love and blessings to all...

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  2. What a beautiful tribute to an awesome woman. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. It is always hard to say good bye to someone so obviously loved as was your aunt. But what lovely memories you have of her, things to dwell upon.

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  4. Your Aunt Kay was clearly a gifted and giving person. I enjoy the blog version of memorial services. It provides a peek into a loved ones life when we othewise might not see pictures, even if we would run into you somewhere and you would tell us about your Aunt Kay.
    What a joy that this family could grieve as one that has hope.

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  5. A life fully lived and beautifully memorialized. Your aunt lives on in the hearts and memories of everyone who loved her.

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  6. A wonderful tribute to your aunt. Love the last line...
    So thankful for the hope we have.

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  7. A lovely tribute to a loved aunt. She has left a true legacy behind her. One of faith and love for her family.

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  8. I'm very sorry for your loss. Kay sounds like she was a very special woman and loved by many. I will keep your families and especially your uncle in my thoughts and prayers.

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  9. Judy... even though I do not know your aunt, your post spoke to me this morning. Thank you for honoring her in this way. May God fill the emptiness for her dear family and yours too.

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  10. What a beautiful tribute to your Aunt Kay...she loved life, she loved your children and the grands and yet she always took a special interest in those around her. You will miss her, but we have that everlasting hope.

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  11. This was a beautiful tribute to a wonderful woman. My deepest sympathy to your Uncle George and you and your family on the loss of Aunt Kay. She is home with the Lord, making a place for her family to join her one day.

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  12. Beautiful tribute Judy...content, at the feet of Jesus! I will keep your Uncle in my prayers...that is a tough road to walk.

    Sorry for your loss..

    Hugs!

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  13. What a sweet and loving way to remember your special aunt. I love how you shared the memories of your times at her home as you were growing up. I just took home my own grandchildren and it made me wonder what it is that they will remember about our home. This was emotionally moving to me and I did not even know your aunt. You shared her life beautifully.

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  14. From the picture board I see how loving and loved she was. A beautiful woman.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson