Do/did you have a favourite Aunt or Uncle?

Bretrick

Bretrick

Well-known Member
Location
Perth Western Australia
I had two favourite Aunties as a child.
Midge and Ruby.
Aunty Midge was wonderful. Never Married, lived in a beautiful Australian Cottage style 1940's era House.
Garden full of colourful flowers. Always cooking something.
I visited often because she was a kind, gentle lady always helping people.
She seemed happy enough with her Spinster life.

Aunty Ruby was one of those people who was a part of almost every Women's Club, Guild, Charity, Church and Committee in my small home town.
Her whole life was devoted to giving of herself to those less fortunate.
My father received an OAM (Oder of Australia Medal) from the Queen for services to the community and the Trade Unions.
Aunty Ruby was offered the same Award but she did not accept the offer.
Ruby wanted to remain in the background, quietly getting on with business.
 

My favorite aunts were my mother's youngest sister, Dorothy, and my mother's twin brother's wife, Mary. Aunt Dorothy would read to me when I was little, and when I'd ask her to tell me a story, she made it up on the spot. She was also a very talented artist who not only painted but sculpted and worked in wood. I have several of her paintings, including a portrait she painted of me when I was twelve years old. They were both wonderful to me. I adored them.

Aunt Mary loved me like I was her own. She had a wonderful garden, and in the summer, among other things, she grew zucchini. When she was ready to harvest the zucchini flowers that she battered and fried, she'd call me and say, “Bella, I'm making flowers tonight; come.” I'd immediately cancel any plans I had and make a beeline to Aunt Mary's for those delicious flowers. 😋

Uncle Mike was my favorite. He was a short, rather rotund Italian gentleman, a haberdasher by trade, who loved to dance and smoked hand-rolled cigars. He danced with every woman in the room, including me. 💃🕺He was always jovial and a lot of fun to be with. I was crazy about him.
 

I've written before about my Great-Aunt Anna. She was born in 1892 but was truly a "Renaissance Woman". She was one-of-a-kind.

She had a tattoo on her bicep that said "Babe". I never asked about that tattoo; I wish I had. I'm sure there was a great story behind it. She had long hair that reached to her knees and I loved when she took it down and I got to brush it. She wore it wrapped around her head in a braid, like a crown.

Aunt Anna was a force to be reckoned with. I don't think anyone ever said, "Women can't do that!" to her and if they did, they regretted it. She was one of the first women in her city to not only drive a car, but she BOUGHT a car. She told me the salesman wasn't sure he could sell one to a "single woman"......he did. She was very, very proper, however, and there were several things that she disapproved of: chewing gum, women whistling in public (which I was chided for constantly), wearing blue jeans to the table, etc. She worked in an exclusive women's dress shop, so always dressed beautifully.

I loved her dearly and she loved me back.
 
I also had an Aunt Ruby, but she was really my father's aunt... but not my favourite. MY favourite was my Auntie Betty, she was fun.. she didn't do anything special in life, but she was always smiling, and having fun.. She died in her 50's...
 
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My favorite aunt was Tina Turner as Aunty Entity in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. She was a take-charge, powerful woman, and while an adversary of Mad Max, I found her character appealing and sympathetic. Her theme song to the movie, We Don’t Need Another Hero, was epic!

IMG_2507.jpeg

 
I had three aunts, two maternal and one paternal. My favorite aunt for a while was my mother's elder sister Modesta. However, I didn't know that she was merely my aunt. I thought she was my mother. That's because I was handed over to her care as a baby and only found out who my real mother was three years later when my parents suddenly showed up haggling over whether to leave me in her care or not depending on whether my aunt accepted the responsibility without signing adoption papers or not. Since she refused to take custody without the signing of adoption papers, I was suddenly forced to view her only as one of my three aunts.

BTW I clearly remember their tense, somber conversation at my aunt's dinner table haggling over custody.
 

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