Aunt Bea, is that you?

Probably my favorite relative in my adult years was my Great Aunt Bea. She was a very colorful character (ask me about her comment about a local weather man and you'll see what I mean - it's not fit for print and was said when she was 91 years old). For the most part she lived life in rewind and replay. She would tell you the same thing over and over about her day, "I tell you Kim, some days you wouldn't know if I was coming or going" as she looked over the disarray that was her home. She'd tell you about the events in the neighborhood (if you were a troubled kid you did NOT want to live in her neighborhood because she was the unofficial neighborhood watch and nothing got by her. She'd turned in drug dealers down the street (the police confirmed the raid for her) and burglaries at neighbors' homes. I heard all about her days on the election board and her good friends from there. She told me about her days working for the ferry and nights going dancing. And, when she was in nursing homes, she'd tell you just how much she hated it (I can't repeat those words either - it would go like this, "this is the sh***").

As crotchety as she could get, I just adored her. I had such a lovely time with her and absolutely enjoyed every visit. She never was in the greatest health, that I can remember. She had horrible rheumatoid arthritis, but things got worse for her on Christmas Day in 2003. Adam and I were set to visit her for lunch and she called to tell us that we shouldn't come because she thought that she was going to go to the hospital instead - her back hurt. Well, we just went over earlier, of course, and spent our first Christmas as a married couple at Stevens Hospital with her. She had compression fractures in her back from osteoporosis - it was terribly painful for her. The hospital would only keep her for one night, so she came to stay with us for a couple of nights while next steps were determined as it was obvious that she would not be able to take care of herself.

That time that she stayed with us, while a little stressful, was really special. I DVR'd a few Lawrence Welk episodes (she LOVED Lawrence Welk, "they just don't make entertainers like they used to, Kim") and I played the piano while she "conducted" and sang along (I got out a few books with hits from the 30's, 40's, and 50's). Often she had no idea where she was or who I was, (the middle of the night bathroom visits made for interesting topics as she tried to figure out who I was and why I'd taken her in to care for her - she thought that we were strangers who just took in the elderly and got clients from a list with the state - I went through the entire family tree to try to jog her memory, but no success). We did get her placed in a home and she spent her remaining days there (and she HATED it - it just wasn't home).

A funny little story - I was visiting with her and some of the ladies in her home one afternoon and they were talking about how awful the place was (she was a real instigator). She started telling them about the last home that she was in and how wonderful it was. I was perplexed as I'd spent time with her each time that she'd needed extra care and she HATED every place. She then went on to describe - yup, MY HOME!! She told the ladies about the big Television, and Lawrence Welk, and the kitties (we had 2 at the time), and the food was good (I went and purchased those hungry man dinners for her), and they always took such great care of you and you could watch the country music station all day long (Adam still insists that the sound equipment in the house is gummed up for good as a result of her visit - smile). I smiled - at least her favorite care facility was the Dare residence!!

Anyway - Aunt Bea died about 6 months before Bailey was born. She was nearing the end when we found out that we were pregnant and we went to tell her. Ironically, Bailey was due on Aunt Bea's birthday (Halloween). While Aunt Bea often didn't know where she was or who anyone else was by then, every time that I visited after that she would remark, "and you're having a baby, Kim, and it's due on my birthday. Well, what do you think of that? Have you ever heard of such a thing?" Of course Bailey never met Aunt Bea - but, I think that she has a little Aunt Bea in her. One thing that you never saw Aunt Bea without is a pair of gloves (with the exception of every picture that I have of her - which made me laugh). Her arthritis was so awful and the gloves helped keep her joints warm. Bailey LOVES wearing her "Grums" (as she calls gloves) and can frequently be found wearing them around.





The last time that I saw Aunt Bea alive was the Saturday before she died (she died the day after Easter). Adam and I went to visit her and it was the first time that she didn't recognize me. I knew that was the last time that I'd see her alive. She was mumbling a lot and kept talking about a party. One thing that she always said was that in her next life she was going to get her driver's license. I think that when she went to that party, she drove!! I miss you Aunt Bea - oh, and thank you for passing the fashion tip to Bailey!!