The Death of My Aunt Ellwyn

(Sigh). Aunt Ellwyn passed away recently. I expected it would be soon because she was getting up there in years, but it feels kind of weird now that it's finally happened. I'm going to miss her.

I live in the house she grew up in. When I was little we would come visit her. As an old woman having trouble getting around, she had a chairlift on the staircase leading into the basement. A favorite pastime of mine is when Doug, Rachel, and I would take turns riding up and down on that "Elevator Chair". Sometimes we'd turn out all the lights in the basement and right down into complete blackness, pretending we were on some Seaquest mission.

In all the time that I knew my Aunt, she lived with the confusion and forgetfulness of an old lady. I used to watch THE PRICE IS RIgHT reruns with her, and sometimes accompanied her to watch those Infomercials that she took oh so seriously. She was past the point where we could trust her cooking, and oh! Dont even think of getting into a car with her when shes the one driving! I dont think a time went by that I saw her and she didnt mistakenly call me by someone elses name. Whether it was one of her friends from back in high school, or my Aunt Beth, or one of my sisters names. She got them all mixed up so many times. I used to dread going into her home as well. With her eyesite poor and her hips bothering her, she was not able to take care of housecleaning like she used to. Nothing against Aunt Ellwyn, but I was always scared of her house.

So I look back and wonder, what is the value of a life? Is it all the memories that I have of her, that make up her value? Of course not.

Now the funeral is over, and my family goes through boxes and boxes of her things. She didnt have much of monetary value, but little did we realize; she had kept hundreds of old family photographs, momentos, and letters tucked away.

So, since Wednesday of last week, I have been exploring the small things my Aunt left behind. And discovering perhaps for the first time what my Aunt was really like. My only memories of her may be of when she was old and confused, but I am so glad that she saved the pictures... helping me learn about her childhood and her past. Helping me piece together my family tree.

And now I face the stunning reality. My Aunt is in Heaven, and her mind is in more clarity than ever before. She is in peace, and she is with Christ.