Monday, November 11, 2019
Aunting”
Definition found in the Urban dictionary-
The act(s) of being an aunt, usually in an awesome way.
That’s all it says- but there was so much more to our Aunt Helene -
Loving, sweet, generous, fun, kind, considerate, strong, spiritual and ..brave
I’ll explain the brave part as we go along…
She was a loving, daughter ,wife, sister, and last but not least a loving and devoted special Aunt to myself & all of my brothers and sisters .We were pretty lucky - we had no cousins so we had Helene all to ourselves
Between all my brothers and sisters We all have so many vast and varied memories of our aunt Helene and Uncle Don from growing up..
I can’t remember a time when Helene wasn’t around-
There were lots of family parties - if it want’t at mom’s it was at Helen house and their first apartment was very, very small - little one bedroom, but it didn’t matter -we’d we get together and have a great time, so ‘first act of bravery” having us all over at her house in close quarters-
She always had great food and plenty of baked clams, a delicacy for us when we were growing up.. she’d put records on the hi-fi and we’d dance in the living room -
Sometimes Marie and I would get to sleep over after the party - Helene would let us us wear her frilly night gowns - we didn’t know it then but they were her best and most beautiful lingerie
She would paint our finger nails and toes - We felt like we were playing dress up to go to bed.
The boys had sleep overs too- but no mani- pedi’s for them -
By the time there was seven kids in our family, in the days before mini vans and SUV’ s, Helene and Don would come along on our family vacations to Vermont - and it was always a fight who would get to the ride with them- that was the fun car -again pretty brave … a seven or 8 hour drive with kids in the car to sleep in my dad’s old family farm house, but it was always so much fun
On a few occasions when my parents went away Helene and Don would babysit - they’d move in for the weekend-. Again Brave….
But by the time Sunday came around their bags were packed an waiting by the door, and when my parents walked in - they couldn’t get out of there fast enough - we were a handful…
But my most favorite memories of Helene were of summer beach days - my mom would make ham on rye sandwiches a jug of pink lemonade and we pile into the old station wagon and head out - on the way we would always swing by and pick up aunt Helene- beach bag in one hand and her Tupperware filled with her famous chocolate chip cupcakes in the other -by the time we ate them the chips were all melted and gooey and delicious
And when Mom and Helene would take us in the ocean when the waves were big and scary - there was nothing like it - going out into the white water -shouting “under” or “over” depending on the size of the waves -squealing for joy at the thrill of being over your head and holding their hands so tight and knowing you were safe with them.
There is a lifetime full of memories and love and laughs -Helene and Don were always fun to be around… but As I got older I came to realize that they were much more than that - they were best friends, partners devoted to each other and I could see that they really had something special, a deep and true love for one another -It makes me so happy to know that they are together again…
They will always be a big part of who we all are today..
Thank you Aunt Helene for teaching me by example, what it means to be an aunt and I can only hope that I was as good an aunt as you were to all of us.
Thanks for all the happy memories Aunt Helene- thank you for loving all of us like we were your own..we all love you and will always miss your kind and gentle soul. But I know we will see you again -
So, if any of your are ever at the beach and one of our little kids begs you to go into the ocean - out to big waves , even if the waters freezing, and your don’t feel like it and even if you blew out your hair that morning- Think of Aunt Helene and take their little hand and hold on really tight and go for a swim..
Jerusalem Avenue | Massapequa, NY 11758 | Phone: (516) 541-8070 | Fax: (516) 541-6186
