I'm writing with a heavy heart tonight. My Aunt Elizabeth passed away today. There are 2 women who had a huge impact on my life. My mom was one and my Aunt Elizabeth was the other. I lost my mom in 1997 and I lost Aunt Elizabeth today. Both are losses greater than I can describe.
My mom and Aunt Elizabeth had a lot in common. They grew up as best friends and wound up as sisters-in-law. Both were true Southern ladies - strong, fiercely protective of their family, loving, and always there for whoever needed them. And both made me who I am. The lessons I learned from them were some of the greatest lessons I will ever learn.
I was named after Aunt Elizabeth and she always introduced me as her "namesake". Some of my favorite childhood memories involve her. She used to own a shoe store in my little hometown and I spent many afternoons in that store. I usually went home with a new pair of shoes or a new purse too. I looked forward to getting my new shoes from Aunt Elizabeth's store every year. She was also one of my favorite shopping buddies. Shopping with her was always so much fun. Mainly because she liked going to different malls and let me buy pretty much whatever I wanted. We usually took shopping trips every year before school started and I would come home with basically a new wardrobe for the year. One of my favorite shopping trips was to the Galleria in Birmingham. We spent the night in the Wynfrey hotel and spent 2 days shopping in the mall. She gave me some money and my own key to the room and told me to go have fun. And I did. That was one of the best weekends I spent as a teenager.
Aunt Elizabeth didn't have the easiest life, but she never complained. She was my dad's sister (barely 2 years older than him). When they were very young (my dad was only 14), their parents were killed when their house caught fire. They were shuffled around quite a bit until they were old enough to go out on their own. She told me once she never really felt comfortable staying with their relatives during that time and she swore then that she would never have to depend on anyone for anything after that. Then she told me to make sure I got my college degree so I would never have to depend on anyone. And I did. Every time I've hit a bump in the road when things got difficult, I remembered that story and pulled myself back up - just like she did.
Every year I had a Christmas present under the tree from her too. Even when I was grown. I told my mom once that there really was a Santa Clause and his name was Aunt Elizabeth. I never knew what my gift would be. It was always a surprise and one I looked forward to every year. We also had our family Christmas Eve party at her house every year. The only year I ever missed that party was the year my mom was in the hospital before she died. The doctor had put her back on a ventilator on Christmas Eve and I refused to leave the hospital. I was there every other year including this past one. My kids always looked forward to that party too. It's sad to think that may have been the last one.
She was the one who was with me when I got the call that my mom had died. After my mom died, she took over as my biggest fan, other than my dad of course. She was there when I graduated high school and again when I graduated college. She had a shower for me when I got married and one for me when I was pregnant with my first baby. She was also there whenever I needed to talk about anything. She would have done anything she could have to help me out if I needed her. You can't replace someone like that.
Aunt Elizabeth was very well-respected in our little community. Everyone knew and loved her and she will be greatly missed. She was active in just about everything you can think of and she was always the first to offer condolences and bring a pie when someone suffered a loss. She touched a lot of lives, especially mine. I can only hope people speak as well of me as they do of her one day. Heaven gained a true angel today and we lost someone irreplaceable. I hope she and my mom are looking down on all of us smiling right now. And I hope they both know how loved they are and how very much we miss them both.
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