I have been asked what lesson I learned from Aunt Ruth that changed me.
"I accept that life isn't easy. I have my faith, but mostly I have a will to live, and that will comes from loving people."
This post is a reminder that lessons fade. I forget that life isn't easy, until life reminds me. I forget about my spirituality or the solace of faith, and then a close friend dies unexpectedly, and I look for guidance. I find myself hurt, disappointed, or at odds with someone's perspective that differs from my own, and I harken back, time and time again to the importance of loving people.
Aunt Ruth is my island, my beacon, and my map. Her 92 years hold recipes filled with ingredients to make life meaningful, sweeter, and acceptable even when it holds illness, arguments, bad news, financial woes, or a dinner party that has me seated next to someone with political views I abhor.
If you have your own Aunt Ruth, I know how lucky you are.
