Remembering

Aunt Margaret would have celebrated her birthday today. We lost her 1 year ago on February 1. She lived at a distance from our family- about a 3 1/2 or 4 hour trip before super highways. Aunt Margaret never married, but seemed happy with her many nieces & nephews, brothers & sister, & parents. She was the "go to" person at Christmas, many lists were sent her way. Many years Santa would make a Christmas Eve stop to personally grant our wishes. A couple times a year we would pack up & go to visit Aunt Margaret & Grandmom, quite a job in those days, I come from a family of 10 children ! And the excitement when she came to visit! We anxiously watched for her. If she could not be around on our birthdays, we got a package in the mail. Many times I remember sittng on our front stoop watching for the mailman. Aunt Margaret was no softie, what she said was the way it was. But as I grew older I can remember this "in charge lady"shedding tears as we said goodbye once again. I visited more frequently after I could drive. Between her & grandmom, I learned our Hungarian heritage. She also managed to introduce this country girl to city ways. My cousin, Donna, who lived nearby & I would spend nights in the attic bedroom, the same room our fathers shared many years before & talk about everything, in our romantic minds (we were teenagers!) we wondered why Aunt Margaret never married & came up with a few ideas, if I remember correctly! Again, as I aged my new husband & then my children were introduced & welcomed. I watched Aunt Margaret assist with nursing Grandpop suffering with throat cancer, & again, care for Grandmom as she suffered the effects of aging - she stuck with both of her parents til the very end. By this time Aunt Margaret had aged, differences in her cognitive function were evident. This very strong, very special lady was failing. As time passed it became necessary to allow others to care for her - that strong will remained intact. The last time I saw her was at another Aunt's (her sister's) funeral. She was wheelchair bound, we talked. I had been warned she likely would not know me, in my heart I know she did. Happy birthday, Aunt Margaret. We miss you.