This post is an update of the birthday post published last year in honor of my favorite Auntie Arlene, whose birthday is today. Much of the post is not new, just made current. I spoke with her an hour ago, wished her well, told her I loved her and we’ll get together in the next couple days. Here is the post:
Today my Auntie Arlene turns 94. Regular readers have heard of her and seen pictures on this site before. What makes her so special? For one thing, it is through her that I own the Homestead. She married one of my dad’s brothers, Uncle Elmer ( a twin), years ago and they raised their family here at the Homestead. I spend time with her as often as both our schedules permit. That’s right, both our schedules.
Auntie Arlene has a full life, full of family and friends and as of just recently, twin great grandchildren, a boy and a girl, that she got to hold yesterday!! The newest additions bring the grand total to 13 great grandchildren. Arlene Buelow, daughter of a twin, wife of a twin, mother of twins, is now great grandmother of twins – how cool is that??
She loves pro football, especially the Packers and she knows stats, more than I do. She challenges her mind against the contestants on certain television game shows, remains current on civic and community events and continues to engage in lively debates; for the two of us sharing a meal (my lunch is her dinner and my dinner is her supper) topics range from people to politics to religion. She’s an encourager, a woman of strength and conviction – always ready to go to prayer over whatever the need may be. And she lets you know she’s praying for you!
I’m thrilled to be part of her life and to have her as part of mine. We have a conversation or visit as close to every week as possible. When I’m in school she’s pulling for me all the time, especially when I appear tired or frustrated; I know I’m in her prayers because she tells me so. She knows about my health, my children, my life. At 94 she’s seen a lot and has a beautiful, serene wisdom and grace. She’s quick to share a chuckle and loves to show you the photographs of her expanding family.
We’re sharing lunch/dinner in a couple days. I’ll take some new pictures of us and maybe post one here, but regardless, to me, Auntie Arlene is perennially as young and happy as she appears in that old photograph below on the right. The photo on the leftt was “re-staged” last summer and we had a grand time doing so 🙂 Our newest fun time together is for me to bring my laptop and we go online together. She gets a giggle out of seeing and reading the posts, understanding that this is on the World Wide Web and anyone in the world with an Internet connection can see and read about us. We’ve gone to FaceBook and looked at lots of photos and she knows how Internet commerce is conducted. I just called her again to do a fact check on her dad being a twin and told her that when we’re together next week, I’ll bring my laptop and show her this post; we laughed together.
Happy94th Birthday, Auntie Arlene, you are so loved!!
