My Aunt Madeline

My Aunt Madeline, I always thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She would swish through Grandma's front door, always late on Christmas Eve, dressed in her finery, sparkling with jewels. She made a lasting impression on my young mind. She left us all too soon when I was but nine. I've been working on a Shutterfly book with old pictures and the memories are streaming back. Here is an excerpt for those of you that remember Aunt Madeline with love, as I do:

Mary and I were just sitting down beside Uncle Garrett's garage after sneaking over to Grandma Wells' and picking her forbidden raspberries. I must make note here that Grandma was not stingy. She supplied our family with many berries and canned goods over the years, but children were not allowed free range of her berry patch. Dubbing our shirts as bowls, we hurried back to eat the berries just as Aunt Madeline came around the corner in search for us. We instantly threw the berries on the ground to cover-up our misdeed. In the kindest voice we ever heard her speak, she asked us what we were doing. We told her and she helped us gather the berries. The three of us sat along side Uncle Garrett's garage talking and laughing until we had eaten every berry. I don't know what we talked about, but the heart remembers how a person makes you feel, not conversations. She left a sweet memory that has far outlived her too short life.