A Fine Piece of China

Happy Wednesday everyone!

How are you doing? Shoot me a text or drop me a comment, I’d love to hear from you.

We are officially halfway through the week. We are only 15 days away from Thanksgiving, 43 days from Christmas, so you know what that means, we are just 50 days until we launch straight into 2026! So, I need to ask, where has 2025 gone? I’m not sure, but it has totally flown by. I am excited for Christmas, however, this year I won’t really be able to celebrate. With my upcoming surgery, I will be on a bedrest, lay low kind of recovery session. I am excited for Christmas though, and this year, Santa is bringing me the ability to eat without vomiting. Whoo-hoo!! Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to actually have a High Noon every once in a while, all while enjoying some hors d’oeuvres with John patio style.

This past Monday I was finally able to go see Aunt Billie. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen her and I was not going to let anything stand in my way this time. Between doctor’s appointments, helping the kiddo with getting to and from school and with the overall chaos of life, time slipped away. No more of that nonsense. She’s way too important to let that much time go by again. I learned a lesson yesterday. Time is so precious and it’s such a gift. I don’t want to waste any more of it, and I don’t want to get too busy to miss out on visits with her.

Aunt Billie and I talked about our book, the one I’m writing and the one she dictated to me. It’s a team effort. It’s a book that will never be published, but the one that means more to her than I realized. She told me in a very loving way; “Dawna girl, God forbid something happens to you during your surgery, but you never know. If you die, the story dies with you, please finish the book.”

Aunt Billie is like a fine piece of China. She still sparkles with her smile. Her laugh is one that I will always remember and cherish. She’s this little 4’11 gal who still walks. She still gets herself up in the morning and dresses herself. She’s 100 years young and overall, she’s as alert as ever, but she is 100, so she is fragile. She needs to be handled with care so as not to break her.

Spending the afternoon with Aunt Billie helped me appreciate how much a part of my life she’s always been. She shared a couple of stories with me that nearly had me in tears. Yup, we took some pretty amazing walks down memory lane. I can’t wait to journal tomorrow about our talk. There are things I never want to forget.

Story 1:

My mother was not always a mom to me. She was probably absent more than present. She was around as far as physically being home, but I wasn’t her husband’s child, and she now had two more kids that took her time. We had a rather large age gap between me and my brother and sister, so understandably, mother’s attention needed to be on her kiddos.

Aunt Billie and Uncle Bud lived about 5-6 miles from where we were living in Yorba Linda. When Uncle Bud found out I had to walk to and from school alone down a busy street, he became outraged. I guess he and Aunt Billie told Mother that even though it was a safe area, it was still a busy street, and anything could happen. According to Aunt Billie, Mother told them that I was old enough to walk to and from school alone. I was maybe 10 or 11.

Uncle Bud not appreciating Mother’s reply took it upon himself to drive over to the house and follow me to and from school most, if not all days. I never saw him, and I never knew this until yesterday. Uncle Bud wanted to make sure I got to and from school safe and sound. Goes to show you two things. One, not all 10- or 11-year-olds pay attention to the details of where they’re walking, especially when they’ve been told they’re old enough to do the school walk. Second, I was so incredibly blessed to have an aunt and uncle that loved me that much.

Aunt Billie then went on to tell me how much I remind her of herself and her daughter. Now that’s one heck of a compliment. I’ll take that compliment any and every day of the week. She said I am like her own child. Her saying that to me was priceless and it’s something I’ll always treasure.

As our afternoon was coming to a wrap, we walked down the long hallway of the senior living facility. She reminds me every visit and every long walk that she does this every day. I love that about her. She’s so proud of her ability and she’s grateful she can still walk like she does.

On our long walk down the hall she said to me, “I walk pretty good for being 100. I do this long walk a few times a day, but at 100 little girl, there might come a day sooner than I would like when my legs decide no more. I hope when that happens, and when my body begins to shut down, I hope I can just go to sleep. I want to die fast. I don’t want to lay around dying, I just want to go, and guess what, Uncle Bud will be waiting for me.”

It’s a time of pure reflection when you spend an afternoon with a fine piece of China, an antique, a phenomenal part of American history. The stories are sometimes repeated, but that’s okay, they are a part of her and she loves to share her life with me. I love that.

My Aunt Billie has lived life her way. That’s her favorite song. “I did it my way”, by Frank Sinatra. When she was 18 years old and a couple of additional months, she told her daddy that she was moving back to California. His wished her well. She packed a small suitcase, bought a one-way ticket and hopped a train. She was so brave. She had nothing but $50 in her purse and no plan ahead, other than determination to make it on her own in not only a new city, but in a new state.

My aunt taught herself how to work on planes. She worked on the B-52’s. She was one of the boys and she never looked back. If she didn’t know how to do something, she learned. She says there were no manuals for planes back then, at least not like they have today. She wasn’t afraid to try new things, and she embraced every challenge she faced. Nothing was too big for her to tackle; thus, she truly is the smartest, most knowledgeable woman I know.

I am honored to know she thinks I’m just like her. Knowing she is proud of me every day is an incredible blessing. Buying out more time to spend with her is something that will become a part of my weekly routine. Knowing my aunt is 100, it’s really only a matter of time before she goes home to dance again with my Uncle Bud. She sure does miss him, but while I’m blessed to have her here on earth with me, I don’t want to miss out on opportunities to just spend a moment or two with her.

I had the opportunity to tell her that when she feels ready to take her final breath, while everyone that has ever been blessed to know her will miss her, we all understand when you are just tired and ready to pass on. I don’t think Aunt Billie will ever be tired of life. She’ll never get tired of seeing her grandkids and great grandbabies, but somehow, I believe that when your body begins to become so tired and it slows down to a mere crawl. When you’ve lived to be over 100, the only thing you’re really living for is for your loved ones.

My aunt has never been one to talk about dying. It’s never been something she’s talked about, let alone think about, but now that she’s reached a milestone age and her skills are limited due to her age, I think it’s on her mind more than not. She lives around a lot of aged pieces of China. A lot of antiques surround her and the vibe of life changes.

I’ve been so blessed to be able to spend time with her and have many lunches with her and her fellow peers and believe me when I tell you, there’s so much wisdom at her lunch table. Susan is one lady that I’ve come to know the best and while her memory seems to fade from time to time, she does remember being a nurse. Her stories too are priceless. It brightens her day almost as much as mine when she shares her experiences of being a nurse. She still treasures that time in her life and it makes me feel good to be able to buy out a little listening time with her too.

When I walk the halls of Aunt Billies new home, I see a lot of aged folks. They are all fine pieces of China. Delicate, yet beautiful. Some have lost their forever loves and some still have their partners with them. So many stories from so many walks of life. Some sit alone, while others sit in groups of silence. I can’t help but wonder if they’ve just run out of things to say to one another. There are a couple folks I’ve tried to engage in conversation with, but they aren’t very talkative and that’s okay. I think they’re just tired.

As I walked out the door and headed to my car, I thought about how lucky I was to have a couple of hours with one of my all-time favorite people in the world. I also thought that it could be the last time I see her. Tomorrow is never promised, especially when you’re 100.

When I thought about how much I love Aunt Billie I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to wrap her up in bubble wrap and keep her safe, but that’s being selfish. She wouldn’t want that. She’s not a fine piece of China after-all. She’s a wonderful, incredible and loving woman whom I’m blessed to call my aunt. When her time comes, I’ll shed many tears, but I’ll know that she needed to say goodbye and go home to where her forever love awaits her arrival. I’ll also know I’ll have another forever angel watching over me. The blessings of Aunt Billie will go on for the rest of my life.

I can’t imagine a day without her, but I can’t imagine a life where you have slowed down to the point where you have to put so much effort into living. She never complains. She says she totally healthy, however, she always follows that statement with, “but I am 100, so you never know when the body is done.” She’s right, you never know.

She lived one heck of a full life. She’s raised an incredible daughter. She has beautiful grandchildren and great grandchildren. She’s created a legacy within her family that will go on for decades to come, and I’m blessed to be as close to her as I am.

Life is short. We are all like fine pieces of China that will break someday and when that day comes, hopefully we can all leave behind a legacy of our own.

I strive to be like her. She’s always learning something new. She asks Siri every day a new question that pops into her head and I think her love of learning has brought her this far in life. Her mind is right on point. She is blessed, but I can honestly say this, I am even more blessed to be a part of her life and her a part of mine.

Time goes by so fast. Minutes on the clock keep ticking away. Let’s never let our lives just tick, tick, tick away. There’s an entire world out there to either see or learn about and I personally intend to embrace it. I might not be able to travel to the places I’ve dreamed about, at least not all of them, but I sure can read and dream about them. Books can bring places to life; we just need to tap into our imaginations. Who knows, maybe I’ll get to dream about one of them tonight when I close my eyes and fall asleep.

Well guys, it’s gotten late and I need to hit the hay. I’ve sure enjoyed talking with you all tonight. I hope you sleep tight and please don’t forget, Love Life++ Hugs.