I had an Aunt Mary. Everyone loved her. People took her on trips as their guest, people picked her up for a ride to Services or to a meeting. She was married to my Uncle Sam who was gassed during the First World War and was legally blind as a result.
Uncle Al was the first house husband that was. He stayed home, did the grocery shopping, did the cooking. Aunt Mary went to work and got the paycheck. She was the one who never forgot a birthday or an anniversary. She kept a shoe box with pre addressed cards
filed by month. You got so that you looked for her flowery addressed enveloped some time around your birthday.I still think about her cards, even though she has been gone for years. She never complained. She idolized Uncle Al, She saw no problem with her only
son, who was a bit of a con artist. What made her so special that people did so much for her ? She knew people's faults, but dismissed them and accepted the faults as part of who you were. My Mother and Aunt Mary lived in the same Senior housing development.
My Mother hated Aunt Mary . I think because people would rather be with Aunt Mary , and paid attention to her. Aunt Mary had friends. My Mother didn't. My Mother never figured that one out. Unfortunately, my Mother never learned that if you want to be a friend,
you have to be a friend.