My cousin Kate tells the story about Aunt Bell coming to her rescue.  Kate was a young bride in the midst of an abusive marriage and contemplating divorce back in the early 70’s . During this time divorce was not as common place as it is today. It was a time when religious and social opinion was strongly against divorce. On top of it all Kate was struggling to raise two young boys.  Even though her marriage was abusive, she still clung to it out of her belief in marriage and wanting a father for her children. On this particular day, Kate, her mom and all the aunties were at the park on an outing. All the women were giving her a hard time about staying.  They were worried about her safety. At this point Aunt Bell stood up and put her arm around Kate and said “Enough, everyone leave this girl alone. She has good sense.” And after a long, dramatic pause Aunt Bell added, “And someday she’ll use it.”  Kate always loved her aunt for this.  Not only did Aunt Bell break a tense moment with humor, she let Kate know she had confidence in her to make a good decision.

Aunt Bell took me to her house after I lost my mom until we found a nanny.  Aunt Bell was there again when my nanny died and I cried for days.  Aunt Bell was there when I needed a pair of shoes.  Aunt Bell taught me how to cook all her famous dishes.  Yes, she had her share of faults but she was always there.