My Instead: I wrote my Aunt Dora a love letter.
“You what?” That’s what
you’re thinking, right? All I can say is “Try it sometime!” Write a letter that fills someone with your love. Or say it to them. Just do it! Do not let it go
unsaid!
My Uncle
Kenny’s wife, my Aunt Dora, was a loving force to my mom and dad throughout Dad’s
last months after his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. She would call EVERY night.
And like a child waiting for a call from Santa Claus, Mom and Dad were counting
on her call. Below is an excerpt from my letter.
One night when I was over at Mom
and Dad’s, your nightly call came through. Unfortunately, Dad was not as sharp
as he had been during the many other previous calls. His liver was giving out
and his brain was not working as well anymore. He was confused at times and his
speech was becoming sluggish. I remember watching Dad…I wondered what you
thought and how you felt as you listened to him. Your heart must have been
aching along with ours because you knew the end was near. You were going to
lose a brother-in-law and a friend…and a longtime connection to the only love
of your life, Kenny.
The joy it brought me to
put my feelings down on paper was wonderful. Yes, the joy it brought me! I had felt this way for 2 ½
years, but I had never told her! Why not? It's funny (okay, maybe funny isn't the word to use) how most of us, me included, do not hesitate
to be negative with a loved one. (Of course, it’s for their own good, we think
to ourselves.) But how often do we reach in and yank out a positive and loving feeling
or memory to share with someone? Is it fear of how we will be perceived? I really need to
work on this more. Anyone else?
Thank
you, Aunt Dora, for the love. As Maya Angelou quoted “I've
learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I won’t forget.
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