I LOVE MY AUNTS!

I have these two really beautiful southern aunts, my dad's sisters, with fabulous red nails and the patience of my grandfather. Their bond is strong and reliable and just one of those consistent truths in the world. They are soft and feminne yet extremely cable and self-reliant! They are the kind of women that could survive a shipwreck and set up camp, yet would powder their noses and smile polietly when they were being rescued, knowing quietly that they could manage on their own. Susan would charmingly laugh at the thought of camping and would inform us she instead would need a bed to sleep in with high thread count sheets. But in reality, they both are really independant, raised by two humble and hardworking parents who grew plants in the soil, who continued to raise cattle despite the growing number of industrial farms in the area, who daily would walk across their pastures, who knew their land well and were rooted by where they came from. Susan is the more extroverted one and has been successful at making a career out of being the women that everyone comes to. Shirley runs her own business, a great role model for me as I try to navigate the direction of "jamibrianne." They both are really kind and real and feel like home. I am sad for my father sometimes, the same way I am sad that my mother didn't have a sister. My dad isn't as naturally close to them that they are to one another. He isn't as close to them as I am with my sisters. But just because they don't talk on the phone with him numerous times a day, doesn't mean that they don't completely adore him too. As a child my dad would make up these wild, competitive stories about how great he was at various sports. It didn't matter how outrageous his claim, they would back him up with shaking heads, sometimes with enthusiastic stories that eerily matched the ones he told. I miss my aunts! I wish that I would have had spent more time with them as a child. I wish that we would have had more slumber parties with them, stayed up late baking cookies! I love my aunts! I am grateful that, even though we are almost 2000 miles away, this blog is somehow bringing us closer together!