For those of you that don't know, as you've probably guessed, no, she isn't legally my aunt. But believe me, she is my aunt!!!

   Her family was out East, and in Brazil. Jim was an only child who's parents lived in Chicago. They (Jim & Billie) became good friends with my parents. And once we stopped "going down home" every holiday, we started celebrating them with them. Another (single) lady their age sort of became another relative. And Jim's parents would travel here and became our 'grandparents'. And an elderly lady from the Veterans home became our "great grandma".

    We not only celebrated holidays together, but birthdays, and we'd get together often, and the couples went out OFTEN! At least from my perspective, who being the oldest, had to 'babysit' the others. I have stories . . . .

    But while Billie's mobility is improving (:-}), Jim's is regressing. He has been diagnosed with both Dementia and Parkinson's.

    Billie and I got together on purpose Tuesday evening. See often we have 'got together' because I have wandered down there and started talking . . . and we all know how short winded I can be o:-p. But this time we had actually scheduled our get together.

   S-e-v-e-r-a-l years ago, one time when we had ordered Pizza from Fred's pizza, the delivery guy had gone to their house instead of ours. Our house numbers are extremely similar even though they are at different ends of the block - due to the cities east west dividing line running through our block. She had laughingly called down and told me that he was on his way, and shared how she had always loved Fred's pizza, but Jim didn't. We had said that "some day" we'd get Fred's pizza together. You know, the proverbial "someday". When she had very confidentially shared with me that this time they wouldn't be moving back home come fall, I had declared that we couldn't let "someday" never happen!! That would just be wrong!! So we had set the Tuesday night, after Day Camp was done, before they were to move that weekend, as our "Someday".

    And Fred's did not disappoint us one bit!!! They did an exceptionally fine job on our large, double cheese with sausage pizza. And Jim had two big pizzas and said it was good ;-p! Then he left on an errand to Meijer's, and we talked, and laughed, and talked, and laughed . . . and had a wonderful time together!!! (And I tucked the rest of the pizza away in their fridge for them for later, they had paid for it after all ...).

     We prayed together, thanking God for one another. Thanking Him for having allowed us to live so close together to be there for each other. Thanking Him that friendship is not limited within age boundaries.

    And she gifted me with this chicken, which she claims I complimented her on the first time I saw it, and numerous times since, and she wanted me to have it :-D  I shall treasure it!!! It fits right in with my 'barn'/farm kitchen :-D

    She insists that I MUST come up and visit her on "her" porch. She's sure I haven't forgotten how to get there ;-p

    Lord, thank-you for the blessing of my "aunt" Billie!!!        But, as I shared with her, I do have one, a bit un-nerving, question . . . A few years ago, when we looked at and then pursued a different house, she had told me that she had prayed it wouldn't work out for us, that she knew it was selfish, but she always felt so secure knowing "the B's" were only a block and a phone call away. She had told me that we couldn't move away till she did, and that she never planned on moving. But now she is.  And we're not sure if they are going to renegotiate our mortgage. A-n-d Brian's job is on thinner and thinner ice. "L-O-R-D .... WHAT is it you've got in store for us?"

    "Aunt" Billie's answer was two fold. 1 - she was sure God would keep using us for His glory. And 2 - that she would be praying for me - even while sitting on "her" porch, watching the swans swim by.