Surviving Sunday

An outing to the Working Women's Survival Show, with a few of the Yas, to see our adorable and talented fellowya, JS. I couldn't be prouder of how she's made her hobby into way more than a hobby. She's a local celebrity now and I'm inspired every time I see her on TV, in a mag or in person. As always, it's uplifting for me to be around these gals.

Then a bit of a sad chore. Attending the visitation of my great Aunt Ella Mae. Aunt Ella Mae was my great Uncle Mel's third wife. She was a character and she brought so much vibrancy into my mother's conservative family. I believe she had a rough time of it when she first came into the family because she was a bit of a busybody and didn't seem to understand that she wouldn't be the matriarch of the extended family or really even of her own family. Everyone knew my Aunt Alys had that role.

Some say that she married Uncle Mel for his money, but I say if she did, she earned every penny. Uncle Mel was obsessive about some things and could be a critical grouch. She stuck with him to the end, though, giving him much happiness. I think the women of my mother's family were hard on her but she persevered and when you needed her she was there. She nursed my Aunt Coco on her deathbed even though Aunt Coco had been pretty awful to her.

One time my brother and I were at Aunt Alys' and we had dinner with candles lit on the table. It was such a treat! Nosy Aunt Ella Mae drove by the house periodically just to see what was going on. She called the next day to ask just who Aunt Alys was having a candle lit dinner with.
The children of the family always loved her though. She would squeal your name when she saw you and always added an "ey" to the ending. So I was "Paigeyyyy!, Linda was "Lindeyyyy!" and so on. And she never greeted you with out enveloping you in a big hug. She used to send us holiday cards signed by "Uncle Mel" but she'd hide her own name in teeny tiny letters within the picture on the front. We liked hunting for her name and then comparing cards with eachother.

After Uncle Mel passed away, she came to family gatherings for a while but eventually married again and finally her daughter moved her to Texas to be close to her. That was quite a few years ago and we haven't heard from her or about her in a long time until now. Sadly, she battled Alzheimer's these last few years. She wanted to come back to the Midwest to be buried and she'll be laid to rest in the same cemetery as Greyson.

Afterward, I visited Greyson's grave.
I should have been 32 weeks pregnant today.

Picture of the Day:


MC uses a phrase that I've picked up. None of the pics I took at the Working Women's Show or at the resturant were any good so this is literally and figuratively "Low hanging fruit". But still fruit.