Great Aunt Thelma

Yesterday Mark was not feeling well so I went to check him out of school.  You have to show your ID (since people are always trying to steal junior high kids?).  The lady said, "I had a great aunt named Thelma."

With a big smile on her face, she said, "She was one of my favorite people in all the world.  Every time I see you, I think of her."  (She knows my name because every time I see her, I need to show her my ID.)

Then she told me all about how she used to go stay with her in the summer.  Great Aunt Thelma had never married and she took her out to breakfast and they had all kinds of fun.  "My family never went out to eat," she said, "so it was a real treat to go out to breakfast."

Having been named after my own grandma, I often hear other people say, "My grandma is named Thelma too."  It's sort of an old name.  Never has anyone spoken so glowingly about another Thelma.

I considered as I left the school, what would it be like for someone's eye to light up like that at the memory of you?

It's something I aspire to.  I want to be someone's Great Aunt Thelma.