My Aunt

My dad called me a little while ago to let me know that my Great Aunt “Big Helen” is getting ready to have surgery. She has apparently fallen and broken her hip again. Damn. She already has it pretty tough, so this is not good.
I know I have posted about my Aunt before, but I couldn’t find anything relevant doing a search.
I love my real grandmother very much, but growing up I always considered Big Helen my Grandmother. As a kid, she just seemed more “grandmotherly”. My little brother and I would spend weekends with her as often as we could, and we spent a big portion of summer vacation with her as well. It is a pain in the ass for both parents to be working (trust me, I know) when the kids are out of school, so I am sure that it also helped my parents out immensely.
She was the first adult that I ever smoked around, and she was the first person to let me drive as well. I spent my 14th or 15th summer vacation driving her around her neighborhood in Florida. Was pretty cool. Not that I really needed it. Living in Atlanta I mostly used public transportation or walked, so didn’t even get my license until I was 20 or 21. Right before I got married.
Like everyone else in the world she has issues. Since I haven’t had the opportunity over the last few years to deal with her or my grandmother on a regular basis like the rest of my family, that colors my judgement, and she was always bigger than life to me, particularly as a child.
I know that one day she is going to pass away, and I hope that she gets to meet God like she believes. It hurts to think about losing anyone in my family.