Boogie Woogie Piano Aunt
I just happened to think of a little snippet as I was writing about Auntie's move to Alaska. My Grandma was in her forties when she had her last baby just two years before her first grandchild was born. That made my youngest uncle close enough in age and usually near enough in proximity that we grew up together, enjoying an almost sibling relationship that has remained today. I have another uncle three years older than I and an aunt nine years older. When you are only eight, a grown-up seventeen year old seems aloof and sophisticated. My aunt was that. She had boyfriends, she colored her hair, she wore sweater sets, she never had to go to the storm cellar, and she could play the piano. Although I am sure this teenager was not happy sharing her parents and home with a dozen younger nieces and nephews, she seemed to tolerate us well. Most of the time we rode the school bus to the farm where Grandma minded us until Daddy or Mama got off work. I don't remember Auntie hanging o...