Inspired by Great Aunt Helen
I’m in Michigan. I was born here, so I come back to visit family often. Great Aunt Helen is a big part of this trip. The time I get to spend with her is priceless. She is 102 years young. Aunt Helen lived by herself in Erie until January. The story goes that her mail carrier noticed she had not gotten her mail from the day before. She called the police, and they found Aunt Helen on the floor. I’m fuzzy on the details, but she spent a few days in the hospital, a few weeks in rehab, and now a few months in an assisted living facility in Detroit, closer to family.
My Aunt Ellie and I slip into Helen’s room. She’s delighted to see us, and we savor the fresh bread Ellie brought. Aunt Helen piles on the butter and announces she consumes a pound of butter a week and refuses to drink water. My arteries clog at the thought, but who can argue with a 102-year-old about her diet? Ellie’s English Setter steps in for a pat on the head and a few bites of Aunt Helen’s dinner before she makes herself comfortable on Helen’s bed.
The stroke has not affected Helen’s speech, or her humor as we joke and laugh together. I remind her of how she beat the socks off me in Scrabble and Bananagrams two summers ago. She laughs and says she’s had more practice. After we pray for her, our goodbye is warm yet bittersweet.
The next day Ellie, Uncle Tim, and I visit Aunt Helen again. It warms my heart to see her a second time. She makes us laugh and inspires us. We play a couple of rounds of Rummikub. Aunt Helen wins one round and Ellie wins the other. Helen cheers for all of us.
I thank Aunt Helen again for her encouragement and support of my writing. In 2021, I parked my motor home in her driveway for a couple of days on my trek to Maine and again on my drive back through Pennsylvania. She generously gave me a Benjamin Franklin and told me to use it toward my new writing career. Now when I remind her that I bought an editing software program to help me become a better writer, she simply says she is glad she can help. Nothing makes her happier than knowing she can help people. I can only imagine how many others she has helped in her 102 years. She tells me she just wants to see my book when it’s finished.
Helen says she can’t hear or see well, but she reads the text messages aloud when they pop up on my phone as I show her pictures. A nurse comes in to check on her. She refuses pain medicine; she says she has no pain. Aunt Helen has never taken medicine. We FaceTime with her neighbor, Roy Walker, from Erie. She’s delighted to see him and makes him blush with compliments. He and a couple others helped her live by herself until 102, and she sings his praises. Rightly so. He tells her how good she looks. Now it’s her turn to blush.
Tim, Ellie, and I must leave. She says she doesn’t need us to do anything. After hugs, selfies, pictures, videos, and a long goodbye, we slip out. When I step back inside to retrieve my jacket, I notice she has climbed into her bed for a nap. She didn’t need our help, but we sure needed her. I thank God for Aunt Helen and the inspiration, blessings, and JOY she brings into my life.
Do you know someone like Aunt Helen? Who inspires you? Please scroll down and share below.