Stay Young at Heart and Start with Dessert

My Great Aunt Dolly was a wonderful lady.  This post is dedicated to her since she's been on my mind quite a bit lately.  She lived a great life, 92 years long.  She was my Grandpa's younger sister and listening to him talk about her is so bittersweet.  He had said that they weren't very close when they were younger (though I know Aunt Dolly and my Gram were, as Gram met Pa because she was friends with Aunt Dolly).

Pa told me since Aunt Dolly moved close to him a few years ago, they had lunch or dinner every Saturday and in recent months they started lunching together on Wednesdays as well.  That brought up all sorts of emotions in me.  All I could do was put my arms around Pa and hug him and at the same time, it made me wonder if I'll be that close to my siblings when I'm in my nineties.  

When I was younger, Aunt Dolly lived many states away, so for a long time I only knew her as the Great Aunt who kissed my cheeks and said, "My, how you've grown!" at big family events.  I didn't truly get to know her until a few years ago and I'm glad I did!  After listening to Pa talk about her for a little bit, I realized I am more like her than I'd ever have thought, and proud of it.

Last year, Aunt Dolly, my cousin, my Aunt and myself all had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (Aunt Dolly's suggestion!).  As we opened our menus, I turned to the two pages of cheesecakes and said wistfully, "It's too bad we can't start with dessert."

"Well, why can't we?," asked Aunt Dolly.  "CGM, this is how I know we are related.  I would love to start with dessert.  I love dessert!"

I love dessert too!  I live for dessert, if I'm being honest here.  The first thing I look at on any menu is the dessert list and plan what I will (hopefully) get.  It was refreshing to hear that Aunt Dolly did the same thing.

After our meal, I suggested perhaps we share a piece of cheesecake (secretly hoping the answer would be no).

"I am having my own piece," Aunt Dolly stated, looking me square in the eye.  "You can share with these two, if you want, " she said, gesturing to my cousin and my Aunt. "But I am having my own."
 
At some point in my talking to Aunt Dolly, she had mentioned she never enjoyed looking in the mirror anymore, "Because on the outside, I see this old lady, but inside I know I'm 16!"

I told her I completely understood because I still feel like I'm 15 as well.  Sometimes, I look at my girls and wonder how it's possible I'm their Mom when I myself am still a child.  I used to wonder if that feeling would ever go away and after talking to Aunt Dolly, I realized it will not.  That's OK with me, though.  While she was 92, Aunt Dolly was the youngest 92 year old I've ever met.  Age is just a number and Aunt Dolly proved that.

I wish there were some kind of time machine that I could take to go back to see what Aunt Dolly, Pa and their younger brother, Uncle B were like before they were parents.  I love listening to stories of how things were and I only wish I'd had listened more intently when I was younger, because it's carrying on those stories that will help their memories live forever.

Last night, after B begging for the third time for us to eat dessert first, I said, "You know what?  The best day to do that is on Aunt Dolly's birthday.  Every year, for dinner that night we will start with dessert and we will remember Aunt Dolly in doing so."  I think that's the perfect way to keep her memory alive and honor a wonderful girl.