The day Aunt Dot died

It had been a lousy day really. Many of my plans had already been canceled because of the freak ice/snow storm. Sunday, we had planned a quiet afternoon of getting some cleaning done and relaxation.

As soon as we walked in the door from church, William's phone rang. It was his work...some sort of emergency and he was requested to come in and assist. So that blew those plans out of the water.

I spent the afternoon by myself with the kids. I convinced Rebekah to help me clean a little...and we got a tiny bit done. At one point, I went into the dining room area, and a bird hopped up off the counter, smacked into the kitchen and flew off somewhere in the house.

I have no idea how it got into the house. I looked high and low for the thing and could not find it. I had figured it went out the way it had come in.

I cooked the kids dinner (by myself). While we were eating (mac n cheese, very fancy stuff lol), the bird reappeared on a banister. Rebekah got SUCH a kick out of it. This time I watched where it went...it went behind the couch. OK! So then I figured out what to catch it with (I grabbed Rebekah's jacket) and went to look for it. NO BIRD! I rattled the couch around and nothing. This bird's name was definitely Houdini.

Kids finish dinner and I put them in the bath. About 5 minutes into the bath, Peter starts to swell. He's had mac n cheese before, but I guess something in this particular kind had something he is allergic too. (It was the "deluxe" kind...that you have the pouch of pre-made cheese.) I figured I would give him benadryl after the bath, but continue to keep an eye on him.

During bath, my dad calls. I almost didn't answer b/c I hate talking to him on the phone. (He tries to make conversation but it is usually awkward.) I answered...and he gave me the news about my Aunt. While I'm on the phone with him, Peter pulls the plug in the tub, and a wash cloth (kiddie one) went down the drain!

I get off the phone with my dad and take Peter out of the tub, get him in his PJs and give him some benadryl. I tell Rebekah it is time to get out...and I hear the tub start draining. I think that wash cloth is in our septic tank now...LOL After the kids are dressed I hear chirping...and the bird is hopping around downstairs. So I grab a towel and go down there...I open the garage door and I'm trying to carefully sneak up on it when it flies outside of the garage door and out the garage.

My Aunt obviously can not be fixed, but the amazing thing about it all is that as bad as things went, everything resolved itself (tub, bird, Peter). And for some strange reason, being able to free the bird safely made me feel better.

We go to WV (or try) every few years, and I'm so sad we didn't get to see my aunt one more time. The last time we were up, she did get to meet Rebekah which absolutely thrills me. We also made some extra time to spend some extra time with her and Jack without my parents. I had never done that before and was hesitant, but I am so happy I did. She told me so much about my grandmother, and her and her life. I've been struggling to remember all the details...I wished she could have told me more. She was full of stories...I don't know why she didn't tell me more before. Probably because her and my dad usually chatted and that was the first time I had ever visited her without my folks present.

She loved meeting Rebekah as well. As you can see from the picture above, she just held her and held her and could not get enough. AND she was so careful of Rebekah's feelings (knowing that was the first time Rebekah had ever met her), which I really appreciated.

My Aunt was a lovely wonderful person. She was sister to my beloved Granny. I will cherish her in my heart always.