Towards the climax, I needed to pee so ran to the bathroom and said, "I'll be right back." I checked my phone and there was a text from my my mom to call her. That is never good news, so I did. I was told that my Aunt Joni passed.
I inhaled, and returned to the film without saying a thing. I didn't want to exhale. I didn't want to think about it. I just wanted to let the Friday night to wind down as it was supposed to.
But the memories came flooding in. The love.
My Aunt Joni was nothing but love to me and at any Ripley gathering I couldn't wait to see her. She was full of jokes, of laughter, of memories, of strength, of Hamilton, of perseverance, of America, of family and of happiness. She was always that way.
My sisters and I have many memories of good times in Hamilton, New York, and of sadder ones. Aunt Joni, however, was always there to bring back the smiles, the purpose, the hugs, and the focus. My Grannie Annie and Grandpa Spence loved her and she was always wonderful to them and my mother. She was a connector and did her best to keep family together. To me, she radiated Ripley-ness, and Bank'ed it at every event.She loved Marian, she loved us, she loved her daughters, and she loved everyone who was family. As a kid, I remember dancing with her at weddings and driving around with her at funerals. She introduced me to the Indigo girls and, now, in retrospect, I'm quickly realizing how she made me a much better teacher and human being. There are so many students I taught that I was able to counsel because she was who she was and I was able to applaud them for who they were. She was the opposite of intolerance and hatred. She was an ideal. Because of her, I was able to encourage them to be their ideal, too.
The last photos I have of her are from 2015, during my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was incredible to see her there, to introduce her to Abu and Lossine, and to see her bond with Dylan (who has a lot of Ripley in him although he carries the Isgar name). My one regret is that she never got a chance to meet Chitunga.
In the last few months, my mother told me that she was sick, but it didn't register how sick she was...probably because I always see her as the angelic, young spirit who brought laughter to us all those years. She radiated youthfulness. As I age, I wanted to keep her that way and not know that she was fighting. How could such strength be sick?
We now have an incredible angel in the sky joining the party of many, including her sister Maryanne, who went way too young. I'm guessing the Ripley boys are ready for a jokester to be amongst them and it was time. Aunt Joni (my mother's first cousin) was a renegade, a diva, a sage and a warrior. Beyond all else, she was a caring soul who genuinely cared about everyone who surrounded her.
Rest in peace, beautiful human being.I can only imagine the countless memories you are leaving behind to all of those who knew you longer and more intimately. I imagine their hearts are heavy this morning, too. I am thinking of so many funerals of yesteryear where you were the one that brought sanity, safety, calm and peace to the rest of us (especially the younger generation). I wish we could have one more gathering for you to pour your wisdom unto me. You will forever be another star in the sky that I trust and believe in. I hope you are closer too fine. Phew.
This is always so hard and this morning, I'm thinking of my mother, my Uncle Steve, my Aunt Jackie, my Aunt Barbara, and Kim, Kerry, Holly, and Jeff. It doesn't seem possible that this is real.
This is not the End Game I anticipated. Elephant Shoe, Joanie. Help to heal this wounded world.
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