A Visit from Auntie Fran

Auntie Fran came in from Arizona this week, and it was damn good to see her.

She has not been home in a while, and this time we get her for a full week. She has other family around her in Arizona, but I am glad she is here with us for a few days.

Fran has been a source of support my entire life. When my cousins and I were young, she took us under her wing. She listened, tried to guide us, and never made you feel as though there was something you could not tell her. She was part aunt, part big sister, and always a confidant.

She also used to wipe my butt when I was a toddler. Voluntarily.

That explains why she is holding a roll of toilet paper in the illustration while I am holding a beer. We have each moved on to different responsibilities.

She taught my female cousins how to properly use ChapStick. That story is not safe for work, so I will leave it right there.

My mother was older than Fran, and I believe she may also have enabled Fran to smoke cigarettes when Fran was young. Not every bit of family guidance was good guidance.

Fran worked hard and was a great mother. She is a wonderful grandmother. She is kind, understanding, and always thinking about other people. She is loved by the people she works with and goes to church with, and she seems to fit in wherever she goes. She also has her own brand of Cummer humor.

My cousin Liz and I once shot spitwads against the windows of Fran's apartment while we were visiting. She still listened to us after that, which says quite a bit about her patience.

I can only imagine what it is like for her to look at all her nieces and nephews now that we are older and think, “Fuck, where did I go wrong?”

The truth is that she did the best she could with what she had to work with—especially in my case.

I only hope she knows how much she has meant to my cousins and me. I am glad she is home, even if it is only for a week.

Love you, Auntie Fran.