My childhood is full of wonderful moments with her and memories of things she did to let me know how special I was to her. I remember how much I looked forward to spending the night at her house and all of the fun that we had. Like any great aunt, she fudged the rules just a bit and let us stay up past our bedtime to watch shows like Dallas and The Love Boat. She also made me a special drink called kettle tea which was basically hot water, milk, vanilla and a ton of sugar. I had no idea what was in it, but I knew that it tasted good and made me feel so grown up to drink something with “tea” in the name. While attending Texas Tech, Sis occasionally came into town on business. She gave me and Jeff a heads up so that we could set aside time to go to dinner with her. She simply wanted any bit of time we might spare from our studies which reminded us how important we were to her.
During my university studies, Sis felt certain that I should become a doctor and “encouraged” me in this as much as she could. However, this wasn’t my passion. So instead, I married a doctor which I think tickled her pink. Sis became one of Ken’s biggest cheerleaders during his medical school studies and residency. For his medical school graduation gift, she presented Ken with a shadow box containing medical related charms that she took from her own nursing charm bracelet. We were so touched by this sweet gesture of passing on the medical torch. After moving from Texas, she kept Ken informed about the hospitals and physicians he worked with in Amarillo by regularly clipping and sending newspaper articles. The two of them had developed a special bond, and I loved knowing that my aunt, who meant so much to me, wholeheartedly approved of my hubby and took him in as family.
Ken and I are grateful for the 2 years we lived in Amarillo which was less than an hour from Sis. We spent many Sunday afternoons together, and if she knew we were coming, she always tried to prepare some of our favorite dishes for lunch. I think she wanted to fatten us up, and we eagerly let her try. Since her doctors were in Amarillo, I looked forward to the days she came into town for appointments. She would stop by our place, pick me up, and the two of us would take off to the doctor’s office. Afterwards, we would head to the local Olive Garden. Because she knew that this wasn’t one of Ken’s favorite places to eat, she made sure that I got to enjoy it every now and then. It was our “girl time” to catch up with each other, and we enjoyed it!
Before our big move to Europe and Ken’s career change in 2005, we decided to make a visit back to the Amarillo area to see Sis. The three of us visited some of our favorite local spots and reminisced of the days when we lived closer. We conveyed to her our excitement of moving to Europe, and Ken told Sis about his vision of combining medicine and business together. She listened enthusiastically knowing that she had worked within the business side of nursing years before. Although we knew that she would never make it to Europe to see us, we felt that she shared our joy for the adventure. When we began our blog, she expressed her disappointment in not being able to read it because of not owning a computer. Thankfully, one of my other sweet aunts stepped in and sent her a paper copy each time we posted a new entry. Naturally, Sis loved reading these and following along in our lives…cheering us on the whole way like always.
She truly was a wonderful aunt who did an amazing job of making us feel loved and special throughout the years. Ken and I will greatly miss her but will carry the memories and our love for her in our hearts always.
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