Lily

My grandmother Queenie had an older sister- my great aunt Lily

She lived with my grandmother for all the time I knew her

She had suffered a stroke - sometime before I was born- the signs were still there as she had weakness on one side and always used a crutch
Funny I can’t be certain of the side but I want to say it was her left side

Lily never had children but my father was the apple of her eye- my dad even lived with her for a while- preferring to stay where he had lived with her and his parents before they built a new home just down the road

For some reason she had a real soft spot for me— I always thought I was her favorite niece
As I was a bit ill behaved she would say to me as our visit was over “ try to be good love”
And I did— when tempted not to I could hear her words and sometimes they would stop me

She would have a Hershey chocolate bar for each of us when we left and would sneak me a dollar most times

I remember her long back rubs she would give me as everyone visited on the front porch
I remember how her voice sounded muffled and vibrating as my head lay in her lap

Because of her stroke she was always cold - she’d be wearing her thick white sweater-
As we arrived for our visits - there she would be sitting in her chair right next to the wood burning cook stove— actually I would get a glimpse of her as i started up the stairs- she was watching through the window smiling happily

Every child should be so fortunate to have someone like aunt Lily in their life- their childhood- someone who when you recall them - you remember how they made you feel important and most of all unconditionally loved