[MeezDiscreet]

i wasn't too close to my uncle who passed recently. he was my mom's uncle. although he was only 67, he had been battling alzheimer's for the past 10 years and was a bit reclusive, understandably.

my aunt, Mrs. Eva Jean Bradford Baker, was like the family matriarch after my grandmother passed when i was in the 1st grade. she was never able to have children of her own but she became "mama jean" to 5 kids. it was like she was everyone's godmother!

she worked so much with the youth at her church where she was actually a founding member. in the last few years, when she developed emphysema, she continued doing her work. in the last 2 years, she's had to carry an oxygen tank--and would carry that with her to church service on sundays, the church pantry on tuesday mornings, the teen rap sessions on tuesday nights, and whenever. she never let that stop her.

when i was little and would go to church, i would always run up to her with my hands out because she always carried a bunch of boxes of sun-maid raisins in her purse to pass out. she didn't want us eating a bunch of candy. but if for some reason she didn't have raisins, she would give us butterscotch candy, which i really didn't like but since it was candy, i ate it. lol.

she was, however, unable to make it to my graduation as it would have required her to travel and she wasn't quite up to it. but my last memory of her was at Christmas when she said that us young people were going to have to start cooking dinner. she said that we are grown now and they are getting old. i hate that she won't be able to taste my first shot at her specialty--italian cream cake.

*thanks ct4 for this thread. it was quite therapeutic*