When I was in eighth grade I was Confirmed.
If you're not Catholic, Confirmation is a rite of passage sacrament where you agree to continue your faith, among other things. As part of the process, you pick a confirmation sponsor whose role is to guide and assist you in your faith. Kind of like a godparent.
I picked my Aunt Mary. I should preface this by saying Aunt Mary is the funniest person I know. And if there was anyone I'd want to sit in a long, dry, religious ceremony with, it would be her. In hindsight, maybe not the best criteria for a religious guide.
On the morning of the Confirmation ceremony the priest met with every student and their sponsor. He was a kind, lovely man, but he had an interesting speech pattern. He over-annunciated every word, had extra long pauses between his sentences and aggressively pronounced every single letter of every word. He also had a very wide, toothy grin--the kind where you can see molars. And he was somehow able to keep smiling his huge grin the entire time he talked.
When it was our turn to meet with Father, Aunt Mary picked up on his quirks right away. She immediately began speaking and smiling exactly like him. She was so convincing, in fact, that he didn't even notice he was being imitated.
There we were, sitting across from the priest in his office and I was just staring at her with my mouth open.
What are you doing?! I thought.
You can't make fun of a priest!
I was barely hearing the questions he was asking me. Meanwhile, Aunt "Father" Mary didn't miss a beat. Every single tooth was visible as she answered all of his questions, made small talk and even told him I was just feeling nervous, is all.
It didn't stop there. The sponsors sit in the pew behind you during the ceremony. I was in the front row of the church. I could hear her behind me, still "in character", reciting all the prayers and songs. I'm almost certain my shoulders shook with silent laughter the entire ceremony.
At this point I was certain that instead of Olive Garden, we were going directly to hell immediately following the ceremony. I was pretty sure you can't make fun of a priest and you definitely can't make fun of one in a church.
As an adult, she used to joke with me for picking her as my sponsor.
"I'm surprised the church didn't burst into flames," she said once.
But this was Aunt Mary. She could find humor in everything. EVERYTHING. And there are thousands of stories like this. Anyone that has ever met Aunt Mary has a story--or 10--better than this one.
Sadly, Aunt Mary passed away yesterday. And when someone so full of life, with that big of a personality is gone, it can be hard to process. Harper saw me crying, and I tried to explain to her what happened.
"It's okay Mommy, we'll get you a new Aunt Mary," she said.
It was a very three-year-old thing to say, and it did make me laugh. But it got me thinking that there is no one on this planet anything like Aunt Mary. She was somehow the hilarious, inappropriate, life of the party, AND the loving, sensitive, Great Aunt who gushed over pictures of my daughters.
And while we never read the scriptures together, I stand by my decision for choosing Aunt Mary. She was an amazing wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend. She made light of everything. She was adored by everyone around her. You physically could not be in a bad mood when you were with Aunt Mary.
My life is richer for having known her.
Until we meet again...
