Mincey’s Musings
Year One, Week Forty-Seven

It seems the greatest and happiest moments of our lives are tinged with a bit of sadness at the realization that they can’t last forever.
Every year on Christmas Eve, all of my sister Anna Mae’s family would gather at her house to eat, but mainly to exchange gifts. Mother and I were always invited, and Anna Mae always gave me most enjoyable gifts. I remember so many of them.
One was a candle lamp with a hurricane globe. I still have that lamp, though I broke the hurricane globe long ago and had to find a slightly differently shaped globe for replacement. Anna Mae also once gave me a wind-up carousel with many mirrors to reflect light. I still have it on a library shelf, though one of the three horses has broken off and been lost.
Anna Mae was my go-to girl when I was little and wanted something. Hard though it is to now believe, Union County in the days of my childhood had practically no stores, other than a few grocery stores (usually with a gas station) and the IGA® and Big M Variety store. I don’t even remember a Wal*Mart® in Knoxville at the time. Back then it was K-Mart®, all the way down on Broadway! As Anna Mae lived in Knoxville, wishes that appealed to my young imaginary life were transmitted to her.
I was thrilled when she brought me my wall-mount pencil sharpener, just like the ones we had in school! I still have that item, mounted in my home library, and these some forty years later it still sharpens to a fine point, and the blades have never been sharpened or replaced!
Other things Anna Mae bought me, like the police badge and handcuff and whistle set, have been long gone. But the most precious gift is the last. On a day in November, 2010, I was visiting Anna Mae at her apartment. She gave me a package and said, “Here’s your Christmas present.” I asked why she was giving it to me a month early, and she said she wanted me to have it then.
Anna Mae had been having blackout spells for a while. She finally went to the doctor and found herself admitted to the very hospital she had served so well as custodian for several years, the old St. Mary’s on Oak Hill Avenue.
I was there when the doctor came and explained that she had a heart blockage and would require surgery. She listened to his explanation, nodded, occasionally saying, “yeah” calmly. After he left, she reflected and said with mild excitement, “Lord!” (She always pronounced the word as “Lard”.) That sounds serious!”
And serious it was. Anna Mae passed away on Christmas Eve, the day of the night she had annually provided so warmly for her family for many years.
I remember Anna Mae once giving me a red, white and blue plastic house from Avon® . It is in storage in the attic of my library. She gave me many decorative houses over the years, many of which have been lost in the shuffle of marital changes. But the ceramic model of a Victorian house decorated for Christmas she gave me in November, 2010 is the most precious, for it was the last.
Now Anna Mae is living in her eternal mansion, and I am left to look forward to taking up residence in mine. I’m sure she and I will share many visits throughout eternity’s span.
Next week I’ll share about other special Christmas gifts. Until then, here’s a thought from the annals of e-mail:

A recent study has found that women
who put on a few extra pounds during Christmas
live longer to enjoy their presents
than the men who mention the added weight!