Needless to say, Aunt Mildred and Uncle Alvin are on the whoopie side of this coushion.
Their house was in desperate need of an update. There was nothing modern about it by any means. It was a ranch style house with laminate floors in the kitchen, a bumpy 70's style carpeting throughout the hallways and the living room and a furnace-style fire place in the middle of everything. You know, the kind that is circular and black and has tubing that goes up through the roof, you put coal or wood or whatever (I really don't know and can't remember) to use it. They had an old TV set that sat on the floor but was one that had wood built around it to make it look like furniture. I loved their living room. Even though they smoked cigarettes so religiously that my sweet Aunt Mildred sounded like that of Ebenezer Scrooge. Her voice was raspy. Every now and then it was almost weezy. She coughed if she spoke too much but she was one of the sweetest women I have ever known.
I can remember a big long stair case going from the back door of her house to the backyard. I remember a big (scary) dog that lived on the other side of the fence, even though it was only scary as a child and a dog that wouldn't harm a fly when I was older. I remember being in the backyard with Cousin John Arthur and playing Mother-May-I with Aunt Deborah. I remember John Arthur talking about how he missed his dad who was Aunt Mildred's Son. I remember him not really ever being around except probably 5 times in my entire childhood (which were probably not many more than the times that John Arthur got to see him either). I can remember John Arthur's anger and frustration when his father didn't show up to his own mother's funeral and I can remember being angry myself at John Arthur's father. I had a hard time imagining what kind of son wouldn't show up to his mother's funeral especially if his mother had been Mildred.
As a child I know I was one of her all time favorites. I was lucky to only ever catch the softer side of Mildred in my youthful bliss. It was Uncle Alvin that seemed to bear the blunt of most of Mildred's insults and yet in a way they were only insults of love.
During one of our many Thanksgiving gatherings my mother jovially asked Aunt Mildred if she was only giving Alvin a hard time because she loved him just so much, and under her breath she muttered, "Pshhh...Shit." We all smiled at one another but my mother let out a "woop!" and quickly scolded her by name, "Mildred!"
At family gatherings you could know when it was official that Aunt Mildred had shown up because the house was filled with the smell of her collard greens. She brought them to every single gathering that we had, it was always "her thing" to bring. I think she was probably one of the only ones to ever eat them, but regardless, she would never think of not showing up with a pot full of them on her next visit.
Aunt Mildred's biggest life lesson that she taught to me was this: "Jesus loves". Its an important one. It is simple and it is true. From an early age I can remember her trying to teach me the song, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart...where?" The song goes on to utter lines such as "I've got the love of Jesus...down in my heart...where?" Mildred's heart was the biggest one I had ever known. She loved her family so much and I miss her often and wish that I would have known her as an adult.
Uncle Alvin was with us for some time after Mildred's passing. He married into our family when he married Aunt Mildred, but he was ours and we would claim him in any realm or respect. We loved him just as much as we loved Aunt Mildred. I can remember having dinner at my Aunt Deborah's house and giving Uncle Alvin a hard time about black people. He was from a different era, and I always found it fun to try to challenge his thoughts and views. We were having a discussion about how nobody at the table was racist. (In truth, if you have to make a point to discuss it, are you really NOT racist?) Regardless. I asked Alvin what he thought of me dating a black girl. (At the time my family didn't realize that I wouldn't be dating ANY girls, let alone a black one!) He huffed and puffed and sighed. He said, "Lord I hope I am dead in my grave before that happens!". We laughed because we could acknowledge how silly he was being.
There was a lot of fun to be had when Uncle Alvin and Aunt Mildred were around. I remember a time when I was staying at my Aunt Deborah's house and Mildred had called over there to speak with me and my cousin John Arther. Deborah tried to hand the phone to me and I pushed it away proclaiming, "I don't wanna talk to Ol' Mullard". Deborah laughs and laughs when she tells this story. I don't like to think about it. I don't like acknowledging there ever being a time when I didn't want to talk to Ol' Aunt Mullard seeing as how now I don't get the chance to.
She was full of old southern wisdoms and I'd give anything to have a little piece of that right about now.
No comments:
Post a Comment