Bonding
She sat there helpless.
With one leg placed on a cushioned stool. Growing old can be lonely and painful. It was meant to be a very short visit to see Auntie, Mama’s best
friend from boarding school. We called her Auntie because of the close
relationship she had with Mama. They were more than friends. They shared
secrets, families, jokes and a lot of laughter. We thought their relationship
was really special.
With marriage, they both
travelled with their husbands for many years, to Africa and Europe. BUT stayed
close, contacting each other frequently. Visiting and sending each others’
children to spend time in the different and far apart homes. We gained cousins,
since they were Auntie’s children. During some holidays we had a dormitory at
home. In the garden we played, climbed trees, enjoyed many fruits including
mangoes, guava and coconuts.
This friendship was
special. We all benefitted. Our mothers invested in property. They had the same
values and shared many stories from the early 1950s. They had many British
teachers. They talked a lot about being disciplined at school, but shared the
many manners they were taught! Theirs was a great girls boarding high school. A
very prestigious school that churned out many eloquent ladies, now
professionals, but elderly. Yes, since seeing Mama off, Auntie is now on her
own. Lonely, in some pain and helpless.
We continue to be the
string that holds their bond together. We cherish our cousins and their
children. Their children are now our children’s cousins. The string will get
longer and stronger as this tie should never break.
Family comes in many forms and it seems this bond will never break. How special to have this extended family over time and place!
ReplyDelete"Friends are the family we choose for ourselves," as the saying goes. How wonderful that you choose to continue those bonds. I hope you get to see Auntie often.
ReplyDeleteI love the image of a string, bonding together. Age comes but the bonds of the extended family stay strong. Thanks for sharing this image.
ReplyDelete"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them".
ReplyDeleteDesmond Tutu
Enjoy Aunty while she's around.
Lovely piece, Juliette
I love the connection to beads, strung together to form a whole. I can see each little face painted on a bead and strung together, connected. L
ReplyDelete