A Sweet & Sassy New Year…And a look back how it all began with Aunt Lolly!
Posted on January 5, 2008 in the Real Beauty category
Happy New Year Sweet & Sassy-ans!
As we move into 2008, I want to share with you how my book (Real Beauty Book Overview) started. I know you are all at the edge of you seat.
I’m proud to share all my Real Beauties with you, but let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to…you know what I mean.
Happy 2008, my friends. I’m enchanted to introduce you to my muse.
Aunt Lolly is beautiful because she is…..KIND. Of all the extraordinary women in my life, the one who first inspired me to write this book was my Aunt Lolly. I wish everyone would have known her because she was the kindest person I’ve known. She died about 7 years ago and I still miss her a lot. I can still remember her as vividly as her bright red hair.
I introduced her here: http://kristinrohan.com/2006/07/23/appending-the-eighth-day-of-christmas…/ but I have so many more anecdotes to share. She was amazing.
Aunt Lolly was always excited and happy to talk to me and see me – like I was a very special and important VIP. She treated everyone that way. She would listen for hours to everything I said – no matter how mundane – and would always say, “Is that right?” or “Well, I’ll be darned.” Her eyes would sparkle and she would serve crackers, cheese and salami as if we were having high tea – she was the perfect hostess. It was special time with her and my Uncle Andy. Those were my favorite visits.
She wrote me the nicest letters. Her love would jump right off the pages and give me a hug. I felt close to her no matter where I was. Aunt Lolly had a sense of wonder and an interest in everything. And she had traveled around the world and knew important people. But it never stopped her from being kind to anyone she met.
She wasn’t rude or impatient – she always looked out for us. At my cousin’s wedding (Aunt Lol was in her late 80’s), she wanted to know who I thought was cute so she could set me up. She was always a hoot!
Aunt Lolly had a grand sense of humor, too. She and Uncle Andy used to spend the night at Christmas sometimes and hide some of our toys so we would have incomplete gifts. We’d have to looking for them and we had a ball. I was always smiling and laughing with Aunt Lol. We were her kids. She and Uncle Andy didn’t have any. She spoiled us and loved us and was proud of us as much as if we were hers. I considered myself lucky to have an extra grandma and grandpa – to add to my stellar collection of grandparents.
Aunt Lolly was polite and thoughtful till the day she died. My dad was the power of attorney and had to handle the tough business – it was very hard for him and I knew he struggled. The night before he had to decide about her, she quietly slipped away and he didn’t have to make any decisions. She was thoughtful and a true lady until the end.
At her funeral, I was thinking about Aunt Lolly and a song lyric kept playing in my head – “Only Kindness Matters.” I couldn’t hear anything else. That is one of the most powerful lessons I learned from her – only kindess matters. She lived her life like that, and that is her legacy.
I never think about her without a smile on her face or without her arms reaching out to me – whether it was to serve cheese and crackers to her guests, or to hug us – Aunt Lolly was always ready to welcome you into her life. I try to make her proud everyday – I don’t know how she made it all look so easy, but she was always beautiful.
Cheers, Aunt Lolly. Thanks for inspiring me to explore what Real Beauty is.
Real Beauty Book Overview
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4 Responses to “A Sweet & Sassy New Year…And a look back how it all began with Aunt Lolly!”
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This is so true about our Aunt Lolly!! I miss her so much. Great description, Auntie Kristin. Cheers to Aunt Lolly!
Kristin This is beautiful ! I felt exactly the same way about her !! She inspired me, when I was a little girl to become a nurse, and she’s the reason I did . When I was little and we’d go to her and Uncle Andy’s house in the desert, she’d always take me to the hospital where she worked, and we’d go looking for dull, old needles and syringes in the lab. Then we’d go back to her house, and she’d have an old uniform for me to wear, and I’d practice giving shots to all the tangerines that grew in their grove–all the grapefruit too !! That’s why I think I’m the best “shot-giver” ever !!!!
That’s only one of a million stories I could tell you about Aunt Lol. Your Mom could tell you lots too !!
This was another wonderful tribute ! Thanks !
And she would make the best garlic bread with parmesian cheese to go with spaghetti!
Sorry it took so long to get around to commenting but life is hectic when you are 76. As far as my Aunt Lol is concerned, I have more memories than most of you combined. You are right Kris; she was always thoughtful no matter what and always kept in touch with all of the family. My favorite story was when, as a child, she was stolen by some Indians. They liked her red hair but gave her back to Grandma and Grandpa for a few dollars and some candy. If she told the story it was a little different (more money, of course) This story was told to me by my mother , your Great Aunt Mary.