Melissa’s Cozy Teacup

Puffin

My Aunt Billie loved Puffins. I loved my Aunt Billie. Her real name was Ruth. To keep family from mixing her up with our other Aunt Ruth, she preferred to be called Billie. For the longest time, Aunt Billie wore a big bee-hive hair piece circa 1963. She had hair, she just preferred to wear this hair piece instead of dealing with styling her hair every day. I know of other women who do this and always look perfectly coiffed and after seeing some very cute hair pieces on the shopping channel, I just may do this too some day.

Aunt Billie was a volunteer fire fighter and paramedic along side Uncle Harry, her husband. They served their small town in this way as well as Uncle being the Mayor for a while. They also hunted and went camping together and loved to go to Flaming Gorge and cruise around on their house boat.

I always loved visiting them when my parents would drive us up in the summer. They live over three hours away and when I grew older and ventured out on my own, I didn’t go and visit them by myself.

My husband and I visited them when I went to Wyoming for my bridal shower, and we saw them again at Grandma’s funeral a year and a half ago. You always think you have time and that people will be there waiting, in the same old worn chair in the same corner of the living room.

Funny how we forget that time does march on and the people we love can’t wait around for us anymore than we can for them.

Be the one who reaches out. Remember to visit your family now and again lest you should receive a phone call one day with someone on the other end telling you another part of you, another connection in this world of so many nameless faces has been taken away.