Auntie Bertha

I need to tell you about my auntie Bertha. My sentences may be terse and my words childish, for as I think about my aunt, I become the carefree small child I was for the majority of our memories together. So please bear with little Abrah and overlook her immature writing skills.

Auntie Bertha was this sweet and kind lady who was married to my uncle Louie. Uncle Louie was my grandma's brother. Auntie Bertha and uncle Louie were like grandparents to me. My grandma and my uncle owned a two family house together. My grandma lived downstairs and auntie Bertha and uncle Louie lived upstairs. When I was little, my mom and I would visit my grandma every week and sleep over (they lived 1 1/2 hours away from us.) Auntie Bertha was a librarian. She would always bring me old children's books that the library no longer needed and tell us stories about her boss, Mr. Menandokos (sp?). She used to wear sneakers, which I thought was funny. I remember having this big red plastic toy car that I would drive around her feet. She (along with my uncle Louie) was extremely loving.

When I was 2 1/2 I was very fortunate that my grandma came and moved in with us. We still visited auntie Bertha and uncle Louie, but more often, they came to our house and slept over. I remember in the morning, auntie Bertha would drink her "eye opener" as she used to refer to her orange juice (or maybe she only did that to try and coax me into drinking my glass of juice.) I also remember her and uncle Louie would put little white balls of "sweetner" in their coffee, from the little bottle my mom kept just for them. I used to think it was funny that they'd call each other "mommy" and "daddy", even though my cousin Stevie, their son, was a year younger than my mom. I remember going on picnics with my parents, my grandma and auntie Bertha and uncle Louie. I also remember calling auntie Bertha "auntie Boo Boo" when I was too young to pronounce "Bertha" and that nickname stayed - it was my special affectionate term for her.

When I was eight, my grandma and uncle sold their house and my aunt and uncle moved to Arizona to be closer to my cousin. I was very sad. I knew I wouldn't see them much. We did talk on the phone and they flew into town for my Bat Mitzvah. But after that I never saw my uncle again. He passed away my sophomore year of high school. Soon after that, auntie Bertha started going downhill and was diagnosed with dementia. Sometimes, I'd call her and she didn't talk - she'd just stay silent on the other end of the phone. Other times, she'd be terse and give the phone back to her caregiver. She did come to town for my high school graduation. By this time, she was wheelchair bound and thin and frail. She was not the same "auntie Boo Boo" that I knew. And she obviously felt the same way about me. Before coming to town, her caregiver showed her a recent picture of me and she told her caregiver that it wasn't me. I think in her memories, I was still that little eight year old girl. I'd like to think that she did know me during that last visit together. I still treasure a photo that my mom took of us then.

For the next two years we spoke on the phone - but again, it was always awkward, she was never with it and it made me sad. However, about a month before she passed away, I spoke to her and right before I hung up, I said "I love you" and I heard her voice crack as she said "I love you too". And for that one moment, my auntie Boo Boo was back. We both had tears in our eyes as we replaced our receivers of our respective phones.

Sadly, on April 30, 1996, auntie Bertha passed away. Today, twelve years later, I still feel sad and still miss her. She was a very special person in my life. I was never able to make it to her or my uncle's funerals, as they were held in Arizona. But I hope one day to make a trip and visit their graves. But until then, they are always in my heart. I feel very fortunate to have had them both in my life.