Going In Style

I want to tell you about my Aunt Rosa, who at 97, decided to get a mini-facelift, refused to wear glasses because those were for old people, and even tried to move her hips to the sounds of Shakira’s music whom she adored and was beginning to like Lady Gaga’s style. My Aunt or Tia Rosa (in Spanish) was bigger than life and her wisdom was deep, unusual, and oh, so generous when sharing with others. Her focus was always on the younger generation teaching the spiritual value of money, and techniques to nurture it and save it, so it could come back ten fold. She was simply brilliant, loving, and absolutely one of a kind. She loved Music, Money and Men, and not necessarily in that order, she also had a zest for life, like no other. She was not only a woman of substance but she was also, highly opinionated, and I loved that about her.
On May 17th in the afternoon, she decided it was time to go, and that is exactly what she did. She gathered her only daughter, neighbors, friends, and other close relatives and asked that whatever they wanted to say to her to do it now, as she wanted to bless them all, and say her good-byes, and so she did.
She had just celebrated her 101st birthday on Mother’s day, May 8th; with troubadours, mariachis, and lots of flowers and good cheers. It was a grand celebration, just like her. Right after that, she began to make her arrangements; she knew it was time for her one big party in the sky.
I went to Miami by Amtrak train (and that’s another blog post!) on time to make it to the funeral, and was privileged to be able to be of comfort to her only daughter, and saying my final good-byes to her, though in my heart, she will live forever.
She was a great teacher and mentor, and above all, not only was I a big fan of hers, but she was my own private “cheerleader”, and I always found that flattering and amazing. She would never let me forget about all my qualities and virtues and my passion to serve and help others, while fulfilling my own destiny.
She lived by: “Always do the right thing, no matter what, nor to whom.” It’s a lesson well learned and the spirit of those words resonate with me at a very deep level.
What I most remember of Aunt Rosa is how she always made me feel: “Full of Life, Joy and Gratitude!” – She used to say that was the whole point of being alive.
Now you know why I titled this blog-post: “Going in Style”…because….that’s exactly what she did.