Ever since I was little, as far back as I remember, I have always had Thanksgiving dinner with my Aunt Deloris. I've missed a year now and then, but all my life, this has been tradition. When I was very young, this would be at Grandmother and Grandad's house at the farm. But she was always there and she helped Grandmother cook.
Lordy did she cook.
Mom (and now Denton) say she is the very best cook there is. And I agree with them. But it's not just her ability to actually make the food, it's also the work she puts into the appearance. She has often told me that presentation is 90% of the taste. And lots of what she makes is time consuming, but she doesn't care because she knows it will result in an amazing dish.
I bet she's never even opened a box of macaroni & cheese. Boxed? The horror!
She is so loving and so gracious. Because of the age gap between her and my Dad, she treated me like I was her first grandchild. She took me shopping with her, to restaurants, and to church. Now that I've written this, I'm realizing those are pretty normal places for anyone to go. But it was a big deal to go to those places with someone who's not your parent. She made me lots of frilly dresses and my tooth fairy pillow. I'll see if I can scrounge up an old picture of me in one of the dresses because they were complicated and fluffy with lots of layers under the skirt. Better than what you could buy at any store. She even sewed a couple tiny jingle bells underneath. Did your dresses have jingle bells? No? That's too bad.
Deloris is honest. Even when it's not terribly pleasant to hear. I remember shopping for an Easter dress (another tradition that continued until college), and trying on a really pretty mint green dress. She made a face and told me that color was not for me, as it made me look like a corpse. She was right though. And I've seen lots of corpses so I would know. As I have gotten older, I have become conscious of the fact that I have undoubtedly inherited this trait. As a result, I've been told I lack compassion and sometimes tact. And maybe on rare occasions that's accurate, but at least you know you're getting the truth.
She is sentimental and loves tradition. A few months back, Kenzie and I stayed the night with her and William. Deloris pulled up video from the first Fuston family reunion. I think it was in 1988 although I may be off a year. Someone had set up a camera and just let it roll while people hung out, visited, and ate. Yes, there were dull moments where people weren't doing anything particularly spectacular, but we would catch a glimpse of someone walking by who has since passed away. Then we would talk about them. We were like commentators. The video was a couple hours long and she and I were glued to the screen the whole time. I think William and Kenzie were ready to disown us that night.
She knows how to tend a mean garden and work in the corporate world. And she lets stray cats become her pets.
Are you thinking, "so is there anything not super awesome about her"? Well, sure. She drives fast. She doesn't call family if someone is in the hospital until after they get out because she "doesn't want to worry anyone". And once she swerved to avoid hitting an animal and ended up at Erlanger hospital with a broken hip and skin grafts. And she won't wear sunscreen. But that's about it. She really is a great person to know and love.
I bet you wish you had an Aunt Deloris, don't you?
I have better pictures, but not on this computer. Easter 2007
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