Requiem

with the passing of my last remaining paternal aunt on monday, my father's family of origin is now once again all together in heaven.  my grandmother, the pastry cook; my grandfather whom I never knew;  aunt dorothy, the sensible devout one; aunt lillian, the bossy can-do one; aunt madeline, the worry-wart energizer bunny; uncle ronald, the pampered one; my dad, the outgoing farmer at heart; aunt beverly, the compassionate and caring one....all now joined by aunt carol, the baby and self-absorbed one.  these are people with whom I spent most of my growing up years.  We were quite a gang at holiday dinners and beach outings.  From them I learned to embroider and knit, family secrets from long ago, corny jokes, met missionaries and talented musicians, spent time with their chickens and in their gardens.  peonies, sweet peas and hollyhocks will always remind me of my grandmother's favorites.  I was her designated donut shaker and donned a nurse's cap to bring her pills when she was sick.  my aunts would take me into the wild surf and pull me up high to jump icy waves.  special dresses were sewn for me by them. from them I learned to love piano music as two of them played.  it was inevitable, of course, that this would happen.  saying good-bye one by one tricked me into thinking it would never be so, but it is.  only photographs remain and the void, of course, that can never be filled.