Wise Lessons
There is always that special person that often breaks the mould and changes our lives almost entirely and the saddest part is that we fail to tell them how much they do inspire us. My mother is the last born in their family, and so she has an elder sister, Maggie, who is so much older, almost twice her age. My aunt came visiting us over the holiday, and although I am an introvert, I couldn’t help spending some time with her and talking to her a lot because this short period that she was with us changed my life a lot. She had been married but was never able to get some kids and so later on divorced with the husband; this, however, didn’t stop her from always being happy. She always had this bubbling joy within her, and this is what drew me closer to her considering that she had been through so much hell.
Aunt had so much wisdom, and she was the kind of person you would just keep quiet and listen to them speak, she spoke with so much experience, authority and love. She had been diagnosed with cancer, and that is when she would come visiting us home, but in all that pain she always remained a strong woman. I remember her going through all the chemotherapy treatments and how she was so weak and frail after the session, but she still managed to say something nice to someone and especially to us and especially how she always reminded me to stay strong for my mother. I would always tell myself that this was so far the strongest lady I had seen in my life.
From her I drew great lessons, I knew I had to keep on trying and never give up, and life is not worth living if you do not put a smile on someone’s else’s life, and also that family was such a great union. I remember how she encouraged me to go out and make friends, have fun, make mistakes and learn from them. She had an awesome voice and loved singing, and she never failed to mention how much she did what she loved and how much her singing gave her unwavering strength. Since I was an introvert, she always encouraged me to go out and do new things and meet new people and she never forgot to tell this joke that I really hated, always asking me what I was always terrified of that kept me locked in my room most of the time and if I always locked myself up because I was afraid, I would get hurt. But of course I was never terrified of anything; it was just too difficult for people to understand us – the introverts. It is quite difficult to admit this, but I often thought about this statement when I was all alone locked up in my room, and I guess I made some effort toward doing making new friends.
My aunt passed away later on just after the final chemotherapy session; her hair had fallen off, and I guess that was the weakest she was ever at in her life. She was sixty-nine years old when she passed away. Her jokes, common phrases, the sound of her voice are still stuck in my mind as though it was yesterday. It is so beautiful to know that of all the people I had met she is the one had this special impact in my life. Nothing is as amazing as talking to the elderly and learning from them.