My auntie, Rosie Relph, turned 93! on March 20, the first day of Spring.

Her body sometimes betrays her, but her looks and brain are fantastic.  She has lovely skin and such a quick mind.

She lives in an assisted living facility, and whenever I call her, she always says she’s okay, and we usually end up laughing a bit. 

She had COVID 19, but no symptoms.  She didn’t seem fazed, just surprised she had it considering all the quarantining and good habits she was practicing.

She’s fourth in line of five sisters.  My mom, Gori, was the oldest, then came Rose, Petra, and Marie, trailing Rosie. I only have Rosie and Marie now.  I don’t remember a time in my life when she wasn’t around – even if we weren’t living near one another.

When I was a young teenager, I babysat for her three children – John, Stefanie and Shelley, while she worked a fulltime job. 

I admired her for being a working mom.  One of the early places she worked was Kaiser Steel in Fontana, California, where she also had Kaiser health insurance.  

When she recently had a bit of a health crisis, she went to the emergency room at the Kaiser hospital in Irvine, near where she lives now.

When the nurses at the hospital in Irvine looked at her ID card, they were astonished.  Her card has only five digits on it!  To show you what that means: I joined Kaiser Permanente in 2013, and my card has fourteen digits.

We’re wondering if she’s the oldest, living Kaiser patient!

When I was eighteen, Aunt Rosie got me my first real job in the law firm in Upland, California, where she was a legal secretary.

The training I got there enabled me to find jobs wherever I went.  I credit Rosie for that.

When I was around four years old, I was hit by a car – not seriously hurt, but I was the only niece and grandchild on both my mother’s side and my father’s side.  It was kind of a big deal – to me anyway.

 My mom was pregnant with my sister, Karen, and something in my memory tells me Rosie rushed to San Antonio Hospital to give my dad some help in the ER.

She and Everett sometimes invited me over to spend the night and see a movie – both of them were huge movie buffs, as am I.  Maybe I got that from them?  

One of the first movies I saw with R&E was House of Wax with Vincent Price.  From that moment on, I could not sleep in a bedroom with a big, open window, and I was sure Vincent, in his black cape and slouch hat was right around the corner, waiting to leap into my room, drug me, kidnap me (I was skinny in those days) and take me to the wax warehouse to cover me with wax and then display me in his museum.  Not too impressionable, was I?  

I remember that when we all got ready for bed, Uncle Everett had pajamas on.  I said to him, “My dad wears underwear to bed.  Why do you wear pajamas?”  Turns out that Everett ALSO only wore underwear to bed, but they figured they should be more circumspect in my presence.

Those were the old stories and jokes our family always talked about.

Rosie is very bright and talented.  She can do almost anything – whether it be in an office or at home.  She can sew beautifully, knit, crochet, and she’s great at games – all kinds of games whether it’s playing cards or word games. 

Every time I play a game with her, she has to teach me all over again, and she usually beats me.

I was looking forward to seeing her on her birthday this year, but she took a fall just before the big day, so she’s recovering now, and I won’t be able to visit her.  

This pandemic has separated us for far too long, but I’m grateful we’ve both survived.  (Knocking on wood)

Love you Aunt Rosie.