My great-aunt Rosa Lee is dying of cancer; but when we went to visit her this summer, she didn't say much about that. She--like her mother, and her sister (my grandmother), and my mother, and others of that strong family--is not a complainer; and every time I think about the toughness of those McKee women in the face of pain and adversity, I'm reminded to bite my tongue the next time a complaint tries to slip through my lips.
While we were there, Aunt Rosa Lee walked back to one of the bedrooms in her home and returned with a teddy bear in her arms, and not just any teddy bear either. This was a very special one that she and her only child, a daughter named Bonnie (who sadly died of cancer some years ago), had worked together to make. He was brown with a green ribbon tied around his neck, and she gave him to us.
You can imagine how poignant it was for me to discover...
Stop! You're going to make me cry! That is so sad about your Aunt Bonnie, and having lost her only child. I'm glad you have the treasure of this teddy bear, and I know you all will love it and remember your Aunt all the more fondly.
ReplyDeleteP.S. You are one of the least complaining people I know! Evidently you learned it well from those who walked before you.