Stellie Pearl's Thoughts......

I Keep Hoping That My Tomorrows Will Catch Up With Yesterday

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Mom and Her Sisters, Part One~ Aunt Sis


Pictured Above in 1976: Mim, Jackie, Mom and Sis (missing: JoAnn)


My mom had 4 sisters. Only one is left, living in a nursing home in Kentucky. She and my mother haven't seen each other in over 10 years.

The eldest sister was Margaret. Everyone called her "Sis", so to us, she became "Aunt Sis".

Aunt Sis had long hair that she always wore up in a bun. Her kitchen was a sunny place, always smelling of good food. To this day when I smell green beans cooking, it reminds me of her kitchen. On her back porch was a swing, which we enjoyed. She had a ancient cat named Tiger...an orange and white tabby, who had been in many fights. One of his eyes was damaged. We always wanted to pet Tiger, but we wary of him.

Aunt Sis wore plain white Keds sneakers which were clean and white all of the time. When they got dirty, she would wash them. Only Aunt Sis could get them white enough to look like they were brand new.

She loved to can her garden vegetables. She had a cellar house, where she kept her canned goods. She made wonderful pies....I especially remember her apple pie. She knew every bird song, and every wild flower that grew up on the hill next to her house. I remember her showing me a flower called "Bloodroot"...when we picked it, red liquid came out of the stem.

Aunt Sis also taught me how to properly wash my waist-length long hair. Her bathroom was a comforting place. Her washer and dryer were in there, so it always smelled of soap and Downy.

We lost my Aunt Sis in the fall of 1988. She had been sick for awhile. She had been diagnosed with Lung Cancer had had to have a lung removed. (All of mom's sisters, including my mom were smokers.) Aunt Sis came down with pneumonia, then, she was gone.

I miss her still....her laughter, her advice, her smile. She was a special Aunt to me.

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