Recently, Jeff and I visited my last living aunt and uncle. Aunt Mary Beth is mom's youngest sister. She and her husband Jack live in the same house they bought in 1965 when their twins were born. Now, in their mid-eighties, they greeted us with large smiles and hugs.
We reminisced about years past, my grandmother and her love of poetry, Nostradamus and UFOs. Uncle Jack, shared his experiences as an amateur bird-watcher focusing on raptors--predatory birds (eagles, owls and hawks). We listened with great interest, laughed heartily and parted hoping to see them again soon.
I loved having a real world, real family, reminder of my ancestors. It was a gift to be in the presence of a loving aunt and uncle.
Mary Pipher has written:
"We are adrift on a little boat rocked in the river of time, part of a long line of women who have lived in caves, swum in rivers, and foraged for food. We are the daughters of time...As we approach the end of our time, we can feel safe under the sky full of our ancestors. And some of us are becoming the ancestors for new generations of family." Women Rowing North, p. 205.
--Robyn