I remember one year for spring break, my mom sent me to Warrenville to stay with my great aunt for the week. I was pretty excited. My aunt Charlotte was the life of the party wherever she went and people loved when she came around! She was loud, loved to dance and was very articulate. I now realize I pretty much idolized her, although I didn’t recognize it then. I remember her home felt warm, inviting and it felt like love. Her home was decorated with the finest furnishing from Pier 1 Imports, it looked like a showroom. My aunt Charlotte and Uncle Henry had all girls (no boys) and one had cerebral palsy (you may see where this is going). My aunt was sharp, although I was a young girl I was swoon with her ability to advocate for her children and read people better than any reality TV Housewife without using one profane word.
You see, my aunt was a housewife and she was so good at it! I mean, she loved on her children, she was the mom in the carpool lane that everyone knew(I can still hear her singing Anita Baker as she drove her station wagon.), she was THE neighborhood mom extraordinaire! I was so impressed with her abilities that it sparked my interest to be a stay at home mom because she did it with so much grace. I remember she would have dinner ready for her husband when he got home from work and she prepared his plate, all in the name of kindness. Her meals were delicious, the kitchen was definitely a happy place for her. Her meals were always like Martha Stewart, basically they were never ordinary. They were cooked with a culinary flair that only she could pull off. She served her meals in cute dishes and her food was displayed as if she was cooking for house guests but it was only for her husband and children. Gosh, I was so IMPRESSED! She did all of this and still found the time to make it to all of her Bible Studies, field service (she was a Jehovah’s Witness), take care of her special needs child AND pick up and drop off her other girls at their activities, It was so beautiful to watch. She loved on her husband in a way that was pure magic. She had so much poise and class and everyone knew it. To watch them on the dance-floor was literally like watching water flowing beautifully over pebbles.
My aunt passed away in 2013 its still an unbelievable thought. Fast Forward to present day.
My mom has told me for years that I act like my aunt. She always tell me how much I remind her of my aunt Charlotte and today, I had a epiphany, I really do.
I have come to realize just how much I adopted so many of her ways without noticing. I learned so much from her without even needing a pen and paper. I guess I mentally took a note of her mothering ways. I have come to realize that although she is gone, she is one of my motherhood muses.
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