My Guardian Angel

Yesterday was the first Teacher Day and school starts next Wednesday. I got up and walked the dog. Then I watched a little TV. I caught the end of a travel show about Italy and watched all of the next one on Edinburg. Then I put a mix of cds on, classical and jazz, and even a little Bela Fleck banjo. From there I went to the kitchen.

When I have the time, I love to cook. The rest of my family was still sleeping, so I had some purely creative time in the kitchen. I mixed three eggs with a little milk. Then I stirred in a little salsa con quesa. To that I added some chopped green pepper, onion, black olives, and green olives with pimento. I was already frying bacon in another pan, so I started this omelet in a new pan and added some shredded deli ham and a slice of American cheese, also torn. I slapped this creation onto a plate with toast and bacon and thoroughly enjoyed it with grape juice.

When I got down to my last bite, the thought hit me. Without knowing it I had just spent my morning with my aunt Jane. She's been gone for years, but I think of her so often that I sometimes refer to her as my guardian angel. Aunt Jane loved walks, travel shows and especially cooking shows, and most of all, cooking.

I'll never forget a walk around the old neighborhood with Aunt Jane in which she noticed yellow irises growing in a ditch. It's because of Aunt Jane that irises are one of the few flowers that I can identify. We went right home to get the right tools and she dug a few of the wildflowers to plant in her own garden. She always made things prettier. And tastier.

My aunt Jane was the best cook in the family. Whenever I spend time in the kitchen, making bread, sauteing mushrooms, or creating some new omelet I always feel comforted. A calm comes over me and I chop vegetables, listen to music, smell and feel the food as well as taste it. The last time I visited Aunt Jane in a hospital in West Virginia, we sat quietly and watched cooking shows on the Food Network. Just being with her always made me feel like somehow I was the most wonderful person in the world. I miss that.

When I was attending the University of Northern Iowa I had an art class in a big auditorium and every day of that class we saw the most interesting paintings projected on a huge screen. One day I took Aunt Jane with me. She never went past high school and was never very intellectual, but she had such an intuitive sense for beauty and art that I just wanted to share that experience with her. Having her around always made things better. It's probably because she loved me so much that I felt like I could do no wrong. It's a real confidence builder to have someone like that in your corner.

I'm about to start a new school year. My days will be packed. I will get buried in assignments and every once in a while I might even lose perspective. I'll be dealing with a whole range of kids, some of whom have never felt the kind of love and support that my family has provided for me. Everybody should have someone who makes them feel the way Aunt Jane made me feel. There's a lot of hurt out in the world and we need more Aunt Janes. Everyone should feel the calm and love of a guardian angel. I know that I've been blessed with mine.