Role Models

Hi all...do you have any role models, someone in your life or maybe someone you don't even know, but whom you aspire to emulate? I do. It's my Aunt Bertha, my mother's only surviving sibling. She has a birthday tomorrow and I want to celebrate her in this blog piece.

Pictured from left to right: My mom (Stella), Aunt Bertha, Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Stanley circa 1940

Of course, I love my aunt because she is my family. But what I love most about her is that she loves people fiercely like you might expect anyone with an Aries Sun to express their love. She loves her family and her friends wholeheartedly. When we are done talking on the phone she tells me she loves me. I want to do more of that...telling people I love them...now.

When I was growing up, my mother, the eldest of her 3 siblings, would tell me that she often envied her sister because of my aunt's ability to make friends easily. My mother was more shy while my aunt was more of a social butterfly or a "gadabout" as she and I often joke now. I love that she maintains strong connections to friends and family. She even goes to card club!

When I had breast cancer in 2007, my dad had just passed and my mother didn't drive so it was my aunt and uncle who took me to the hospital for surgery and brought me home. Granted, they lived close by, but they were always so self-less and caring. When my mother was in failing health, my aunt brought her homemade soup. When I made my Holy Confirmation 50 years ago, my aunt was my sponsor. She is incredibly kind, thoughtful and giving. I want to be more like her...now.

If you want a good recipe for anything, ask my aunt. She and her sisters were all good cooks and bakers (even though my mother did not enjoy either household task and would be the first to let you know) however, I didn't inherit that gene. LOL But even now, my aunt loves to share her recipes and she even printed a cookbook of her favorites and gave them to family members. I am blessed to have one.

Speaking of books, my aunt gathered her most treasured family stories and with the help of her daughter-in-law and granddaughters published the collection a few years ago. Her stories are warm and funny and some are quite tender, but wow...what a keepsake!

Another reason to revere my aunt...she knows how to take care of herself. Her health is important to her. She knows a lot about good nutrition and exercise. She still walks for 30 minutes most days. I want to have that kind of discipline.

I'm also very blessed to know more about my Polish ancestry than I could have dreamed. And that is thanks mostly to my mother and her sisters. More recently, my aunt gave me copies of photos of my great-grandmother whom I never knew. I always heard the stories about "Bubba" but it's wonderful to see what she looked like and who she resembles.

There's definitely lots more that I could write about my dear aunt, but you get the gist. She is my role model for good living in this world. Cheers to you at 92, Aunt Bertha! We love you!