One Special Lady

A great lady died recently. She lived a long life and left her mark on so many people. I am one of them. My life is injected with “snapshot” memories of Ethel. She was not around very much, and yet, always a part of our family.
Ethel and her husband lived in an apartment below my mom and her mom and sister when she was a teenager. This young couple with two small children became more than neighbors to my mom, they became family. My mom tells me of playing with the babies and how much she loved them. Of her time with Ethel and the love Ethel shared with her. Make no mistake, my Grandmother loved my mom with all her heart, but everyone can use all the love they can get and Ethel added to my mom’s life in so many ways…and in turn mine.
My earliest memory of Ethel involves coffee. Yes, coffee. I must have been 2. Ethel made coffee with so much milk and sugar it had to be delicious. My mom said the look on my face said otherwise, but I said, “ummmm, goood” I remember feeling grown up at Ethels…even at 2!
I remember Ethel’s granddaughters playing with me, and feeding my baby dolls. I remember her bananna pudding. I remember visiting in Texas and putting pennies on the tracks. I remember her Aunt or friend showing me how to tat. I remember Ethel’s quilts and my mom longing to make them herself. I remember the day when David and I were going to be married and we opened a package with a “blue ribbon winning” quilt of our own from Ethel. I remember the rolls (and so does my waistline). I remember Ethel’s children and their capacity to love….full and sweet. I remember a monkey (and I don’t remember how that goes with Ethel, but it does).
Life goes on. I know that. People die. I know that, too. I also know that when Ethel and her family moved into that apartment by my mom, life for us became a richer, warmer, more loving place. I am so thankful for Ethel.