September 10, 2008

Grace Moments by Dolores Martin

A FINAL ACT OF LOVE AND AN EVERLASTING LEGACY

"Aunt Liz, Aunt Liz, I am getting married!" exclaimed Betty Anne. Would you please bake your famous bread and pies for my wedding?

Liz always had a 25 pound bag of baking flour in her kitchen. She would bake bread every day. Pies and cakes several times a week. She started in the wee hours of the morning before she left for her little business located at the back of her property.

She was hard at work by the time her children woke up in the morning. Liz was not there in the kitchen to greet them but they had fresh baked bread and pastry to eat prior to going off to school.

Many times she would bake during the day and if any small child wandered into her kitchen, she would give them some dough to bake with her. She was always surrounded by people. She helped many people to better their lives.

SHE ALSO WAS PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED. Her disability did not slow her down nor deter her from helping others. She was total love.

Liz was excited that Betty and Rance had set a wedding date. She was so pleased that they wanted her to bake for their wedding. Plans were set in motion.

A few weeks later, Liz was not feeling well. She rarely, if ever, complained when in pain but this time something was seriously wrong. Dr. Doyle was called to the home. (these were the good old days when Doctors made home visits)

Dr. Doyle scheduled her for hospital tests and the news was not good. LIZ HAD CANCER. She had less than 6 months to live.

Liz called Betty Anne and told her that she probably would not live to see Betty Anne walk down the aisle.

Betty Anne and Rance rescheduled their wedding to an earlier date in order for Aunt Liz to see her married. They did not expect her to bake for their wedding and were making other plans for the baked items. Liz would not hear of this. She said that she would bake for the wedding and she was determined to do so.

Joe, her husband of 47 years, tried to talk her out of this. Her condition was deteriorating at a fast pace. She was very weak and could barely move from her bed. She was in pain but she was also determined to bake one last time. Not just for the wedding but for her six children and their families.

Days before the wedding, Joe helped her from her bed and practically carried her to the kitchen. She sat at the kitchen table while Joe helped her get ready for baking. He was going to help since she could not walk back and forth from the oven.

Four little children visited her in the kitchen during that time. They were all under 4 years of age. She took time to give each of them some dough to make some bread. They hugged and kissed her. Everyone had flour over their hands and faces. She smiled and continued to bake and bake and bake.

She baked enough for the wedding. She baked enough for all of her children to take home to their families and to freeze.

SHE DIED A FEW DAYS LATER........

Liz died in 1968. I have a faded Polaroid picture of her and those 4 little children baking and covered with flour. Three of those little ones were my children. Liz was my mother, my role model, my inspiration.

Even though the children were very young when she died, they remembered baking with Grandma. They will always remember this very, very special woman who weighed over 300 pounds and whose heart was bigger than she was.