Little things

Enjoy the little things, for one day, you may look back and realize that they were the big things.”    - Robert Brault

Yesterday morning I left the house at 6:00 a.m. to be driven to Fredericton.   Shortly after 8:00 I met my husband and we drove another hour and a half to Saint John to attend the funeral of my aunt`s long time companion.   My aunt Gina and her boyfriend Al dated  for 17 years.   They met at a Christmas party that neither one wanted to attend.  A year before each  had lost their spouse.  With the Christmas season approaching their respective children thought a night out might cheer them up.

For the next 17 years they dated.   Each kept their own apartment.  They would meet at Gina`s in the morning, go out for lunch, bowling  or a walk at the mall returning to her place for supper.  Their evenings were spent watching television, talking on the telephone to their children (15 children between the two of them). At 10:00 o`clock Al would kiss her good night and return home.

As Father Doug said in the eulogy, they were always together.  Sunday morning they went to church, always sat on the parking lot side pew, last row, first and second seat.  Saturdays were filled with yard sales, country drives or camping.  Last summer they spent a weekend camping  outdoors in sleeping bags under the stars.  No small event considering Gina is 72 and Al was 80.  On a whim they would drive from Saint John to Calais to visit Al`s sister and of course do a bit of cross border shopping.  Occasionally they would visit for a weekend on the Miramichi, bringing my parents along for the drive.   Shopping, yard sales, card games. laughs  and a lot of good cooking marked their visits.

Al was a tall, big, quiet man.  Gina is a firecracker at 5 feet. She loves to talk, he was a man of few words.

From the moment he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in November, Gina did not leave his side.  Six weeks ago he was brought back to his apartment, and there she stayed.

Al`s funeral was largely attended.  We sat with my aunt Gina at the luncheon afterwards and remembered a lot of good little things from the past 17 years.   We shared a few tears.   Gina said she would wait until she was home alone this weekend before she allowed the grief to consume her.    Gina said  she would have enough to keep her busy during the days, but 10:00 o`clock at night would be the worst.

They lead a life of little things and that was no small feat.