Easter Sunday and a visit to see Aunt Ida

We had beautiful Easter weather today. A bit chilly early but warmer after the sun was up for awhile. We went to church and it was nice to have a full house. We had so many families there with their children and grandchildren from out of town.


The altar rail was wrapped with Easter lilies and the big dark brown wooden cross at the front left side of the church was covered with fresh flowers that the children brought down front while the organist played Easter music.


The choir presented a short cantata of 4 beautiful songs and then our pastor delivered a nice Easter sermon. The highlight of the service was at the end when the choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus. What a beautiful service. Jim loves to sing in the choir.


My heart was saddened because James was not sitting next to me. This is my first Easter (in 52 years) that he has not been at my side. I took a lot of kleenex to church with me, and I used a most of them. I'm glad my friend June was sitting next to me. Once she reached over and held me in her arms for a few minutes. How reassuring! I was fine when church was over and I took the two beautiful lilies we had placed in the church in memory of James and Jim's mother, and gave one to June and sent the other to a sick friend.


We went to the Elba Country Club and had a good Easter meal and then we left to drive to Brewton to visit my Aunt Ida (mother's sister). After a two hour drive, we arrived at her pretty home and she was waiting for us. She will turn 90 in December. She spent the day alone since her caretaker has the day off every Sunday. She loves to watch the church her daughter attends in Mobile and then some other favorites. Her own church friends stop by for short visits after church. She will be having shoulder surgery in a week or two to help relieve the pain so she can sit for longer periods of time. She wants to be able to go back to church again. Her caretaker was taking her to church once a month since Uncle Tommy died 2 years ago.

She's a very independent person and takes care of herself with a lady named Evelyn helping out 3 days a week. Her son lives in Destin and is a frequent visitor to check on her and her daughter lives in Mobile and is always checking on her and visiting often. This keeps Aunt Ida happy, especially that she can live in her own home for as long as she can.


One day last summer, my cousin and I went to Brewton and took Aunt Ida out for lunch. The lunch hour lasted a long time as so many stopped by to give her a hug and speak to her. She taught school for almost 40 years and everybody knows her. What a great lady!


Back to today's visit.... we planned to stay for an hour, but were there 3 hours instead. She wanted me to dig up some plants from her beautiful flower garden and bring them home with me. Then we began talking and spent over 2 hours talking about her past and all our relatives, etc. Jim and I had so much fun and learned a lot of things we didn't know about my great grandparents, William Cole and Barbara Mays Smith.


We left around 5 pm to come back home. It was a time well spent. We hope to visit her again after she recovers from her shoulder surgery and is back home again after spend 20 days recovering in the Brewton nursing home.