Random Act of Auntiness

Slim, and not very tall yet my eight year old great-nephew was baptized on Saturday.  In our faith, (Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints) that involves baptism by immersion.  I was so very proud of this young tyke who made his own decision to be baptized. 

I hope that as he moves forward into the rest of his life that this memory will be strong in his brain.  The memory of Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends, Parents, all coming together lovingly to support him will move forward into life with him.  He will NEVER be alone in this lifetime unless he chooses to be.  At any given time he has only to reach out, either to his large family, or to his memory of that sacred day. When he reaches out he will remember how beloved he is.  I hope that will help him in the tougher times that life brings to all of us if we live long enough.

During one point in the services when we were waiting for Andrew to dress and come back to the baptismal room there was a grand reunion.  Family was connecting with a uniquely Smith/Powell form of love, and laughter.  The officiator said that in sacred circumstances such visiting would seem inappropriate, HOWEVER, there was such a genuine spirit of love in our reunion that it was sacred.

It caused me to reflect on the ultimate reunion. That time after this life is finished.  I will again be with my sweetheart forever.  Oh what a grand reunion that will be.

So, I started with Andrew and I shall end with Andrew.  Thank you dear for being such a remarkable, handsome, loving, young man.  I know that you are loved by a huge number of family, but remember always that one great-aunt named CJ loves you!

Welcome to Monday

So...it is the oft dreaded day known as Monday.  The dread is well expressed in the little jingle, "I owe, I owe so off to work I go..."  Sung to the tune of Heigh Ho from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Now since I have used this jingle to represent Mondays it seems appropriate to take the idea one step further.  The seven dwarfs are as follows, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, and Twitchy, (um...I may or may not have made up the last one's name because I can't remember the actual name of the 7th dwarf....shhhh....don't tell Disney...lol)  Let us examine the names of the dwarfs which actually represent the characteristics of their personalities.

On Monday which dwarf are you?  If you are Happy....please contact me, I would LOVE to meet you!  If you are any of the other dwarfs, well let's just say I'm sad for your co-workers.  Worse yet if you transform between the dwarves rapidly, YIKES!  I believe that there is a psychological name for this condition but we won't go into that now.

So, on this Monday morning if you are feeling Grumpy, Dopey, or Sleepy, try to remember that it really truly is a great blessing to have a way to earn money to pay for little luxuries, you know like rent, food, and toilet paper?  Remembering this idea may help you segue from any of those sad dwarfs to Happy...and after all don't we all want to be Happy?

Todays Expressions and Impressions

My post yesterday introduced my word experimentation.  So here is today's phrasing.

1.  SIMPLE:  The clouds had layers.

2.  MORE DETAILED:  Sunset defined the colors of cloud.

3.  STILL MORE DETAILED:  Clouds were painted in layers in the sunset.

4.  MOST DETAILED:  Gray, turquoise, and silvery-white, the clouds painted the day into night.

Now it's your turn...remember, I want interactive here.  I'm excited to hear from you!

Creative Wordsmithing

Wordsmith....the definition is a person who crafts unique word arrangements as they describe things that may be ever so ordinary.  In old England people didn't have last names.  Their trade was the name they used.  For example John the Blacksmith, Harold the Tinsmith, etc. etc.  Ever wonder why there are so many Smith's?  At one point in history everyone was required to have a last name.  So the front of their work was dropped and they became SMITH'S.  Think of all the Smithing professions, Tinsmiths, Wordsmiths, Coppersmiths, Blacksmiths, on and on and on.  But I digress from my initial reason for posting.

This week I'm going to do a simple exercise with my writing.  I'm going to look at everyday sights and come up with different words of description.  Here is my example for this morning.

I saw trees with smog ice, bare of leaves, reaching to the sky.  Next example:  Lacy etched tree fronds scratched at the steely, stormy, silvered, sky.  Simplistic:  The tree had ice from smog.  Simpler still Frozen tree iced.  OK that last one may or may NOT be a complete sentence but this is a CREATIVE exercise NOT an exercise countained by the discipline of grammar and punctuation.

Now it's your turn....please oh please, somebody respond by listing some of YOUR examples of everyday things that you observe.  I guess it goes without saying but PLEASE do not express things that are less than refined.  I LOVE my blog posts to be interactive so let lose your inhibitions and start describing, I can't wait to hear from you!

The Auntie Example

Aunts....in the western United States the title for this relative is usually pronounced the same as the small creature on the ground ant.  In the East and Midwest of America the title is pronounced Ahnt, or Ahntie.  Somehow that sounds better to me.....ahntie.

Shakespeare wisely said in his play, Romeo and Juliet, "A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet."  So I suppose whether you call these relatives by the title of Ant or Ahnt or Ahntie doesn't matter.  What matters is the relationship with these people.

I have many, MANY Aunts.  When I married my husband I gained four more.  One of my husband's aunts (she's now mine as well....I plan on keeping her as mine for eternity!!!) the very first time she met me pulled me in for a hug.  I was feeling huge feelings of insecurity.  Nyle and I were getting married in a few weeks.  I didn't know his family AT ALL....and we had been engaged and disengaged two or three times in a year. 

This same beloved Ahntie, Aunt Jane said words that are engraved on my heart forever, "Welcome to our family CJ.  I love you already.  I know that you will be a great blessing to Nyle, and to all of our family."  WOW!  Those sweet words have echoed in my heart and soul for the last 28 years.

This week, I lost two Aunts....Aunt Della, and Auntie Jane.  The two didn't have much in common.  Each of them was from a different side of my large, lovely family.  The one thing they did have in common was that for the last several years of their lives they both struggled with dementia.  One of the darkest times in life is watching someone that you love leave before their body is finished.  As their personalities faded away the memories that I shared with them became more and more precious.

I can not feel sad for their deaths.  For both of them it is a great release.  I believe that once again they are in their best healthiest selves.  Even if I did NOT believe in life after death (and it is very real to me), even if I ascribed to the theory that there is NOTHING after death, we simply cease to exist, I would be happy for them to have left behind the burdens of pain, and dementia.

Yet within their struggles I see the strengths that are cultivated by the families.  Unselfishness that is shown in the caring for these two ladies who have been dear to me.  Moments of poignance when they would be themselves even for a brief period of time. 

What I would wish is that I could have a time machine.  I would sail back in time to New Year's Day at my Aunt Della's.  I would watch her happy animated face as she made making a 4 or 5 course meal for 50 look effortless.  I would hear her musical laugh ringing out again.  I would hug her tight and tell her how much I love her.

Ahntie Jane....I would snuggle up and go to sleep with her in her double bed.  I don't think we slept all that much but we had fun giggling and gabbing.  The years seemed to fall away and we were both young girls having a slumber (slumberLESS) party.  I would eat her amazing biscuits that were so light and fluffy you HAD to put gravy on them or they would simply float off the plate.  (OK, that last statement may be a bit exaggerated, but not much!)  I would sing, and sing, and sing to Ahntie Jane.  She always told me that she LOVED to hear me sing, and I LOVED to sing to her.

Both of these aunts were examples to me of faith, of courage in the hardest of times, and laughter in all times.  Both of them blessed me with many, MANY wonderful cousins, and cousins children, and left behind a large legacy of love.

Salute to you both ladies, Aunt Della, and Auntie Jane.  I love you both.  Even though your turn on this old earth is finished you will always be a part of me.   I am excited for that time when once again we are together.  Aunt Della, please play the piano for me (she was a terrific piano player) so that I can sing to Aunt Jane, and then we'll have a HUGE round of playing card games.  Maybe in the eternities Auntie Jane will cook for me, and I will sing to her....I know that I would appreciate the trade off (I appreciate good cooking but don't really like to do it myself)....NYLE would definitely appreciate it too!