12-19-1987, Me and Auntie playing in the floor.

This weekend Auntie (you have to say it Ain-ie) passed away.  It was a real shock since we just saw her on Tuesday.  She had been in and out of the hospital a lot over the last year or so, but at our visit she was feeling great, looking great, and still as sharp as a whip.

4-20-09, Auntie seeing Britt for the first time.

Auntie was an amazing person.  She and Uncle Hoyt were technically my great aunt and uncle, but they were so much more.  We all use to take turns going over to their house in the summer time.  We would cross the river leaving Decatur, and on the way back to their house we'd stop at the grocery store where we would get all sorts of things that Mother and Daddy never would have bought us.  Once I remember getting Reese's Cup cereal. While at their house, we'd sleep in, make forts out of blankets between the chairs and coffee table.  We'd watch the Home Shopping Network with Auntie, who loved to tell us about the jewelry.  I use to look forward to walking next door where a couple of my second cousins, Jennifer and Jamie, lived and playing cards with them.  They were older than me, and sometimes had summer jobs or other plans, but I always looked forward to seeing them.  The best part was staying up extra late and getting a midnight snack before bedtime (around 10:30).  She'd have several kinds of ice cream and every kind of topping you could imagine gummy worms, nuts, syrup.  The best dessert though was her chocolate pies.

6-26-11, Auntie with Ruth

More than my memories of what we did for those amazing summer weeks though, are my memories of her.  She had the biggest smile, and always was laughing about something.  She loved to aggravate and get us kids going, but never in a mean way.  She absolutely hated her first name.  And like most of the family went by her middle name.  Just on Tuesday she about had a fit with the nurse on the phone who she told "you should know by now my name is not Myrtie!"  She loved jewelry and Uncle Hoyt always found her the most beautiful pieces.  She was such a lady with her hair done, her clothes just so, her jewelry, and nails.  She was an Auburn fan and loved basketball, but went to every kinda sporting event everywhere she could.  She the kindest person, who loved her family.  She and Uncle Hoyt never had children of their own, but adopted all of us great-nieces and nephews as their grandkids.  And later, they both would light up any time I came home and brought my own kids.  Most of all I remember that smile and laugh.

11-25-2013, Britt showing his mammoth to Auntie.  He talked and talked and talked to her about it.

11-25-13, Auntie holding Rebecca.

Auntie was I'm going to miss visiting her on our trips home, and I wish we had thought to get a picture all of us together last Tuesday.  But I'm so thankful I had a chance to see her, to hear about the cousins and their kids, to listen to her give folks a hard time and laugh about it, to give her a hug one more time.  And to be honest she probably wouldn't have let me had a picture anyway, she wasn't going to get her hair done till Saturday anyway.