My Great Aunt Tildie*

My Great Aunt Tildie, who is my Mother’s Dad’s Sister, called on Sunday, August 27, the day Baby Kaos was due.

The last time I spoke with my Great Aunt Tildie, I was 16, and my Parents, My Little Brother, and I took a trip to New York. At the time, she lived on Long Island. Several years ago, she moved to Massachusetts, to be closer to her grandchildren. She’s in her 80’s, and she’s pretty sharp.

Everyone should have a Jewish Aunt named Aunt Tildie who lived on Long Island. She always sends me a birthday card; she sent cards when I graduated high school and college. She sent Zel and me a nice set of metal bowls for our wedding, saying she’s had similar metal bowls for 50 years and doesn’t cook a meal without them. She sent a card as soon as she heard the news about Baby Kaos.

When she called last week, she said, “Is this my favorite Grand Niece who lives in the Pacific Northwest?” I don't know if she has any other Grand Nieces who live in the Pacific Northwest, so I selfishly answered yes.

She wanted to know if “her baby” had come yet. She said she was so excited that she couldn’t stand it and wanted to know as soon as her little Great-Great Nephew was born.

We spoke for 1 minute and 28 seconds, according to my phone.

My Great Aunt Tildie called again this morning. “Just checking in on my baby,” she said.

I told her he still wasn’t here and we were being as patient as we could be, although it was getting harder to wait. We spoke for 1 minute and 8 seconds.

“I’m sure I’ll hear from you as soon as he arrives,” she said.

“Aunt Tildie, you're at the top of the call list” I said.

“You’ll call? No, you’ll be busy. I’ll probably hear from your mother,” she said.

It’s pretty funny, really: I don’t talk with the woman for 17 years and she calls two consecutive Sundays, and we speak for a total of 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

And, yes, she's at the top of the call list.

*Tildie is a nickname our family calls her. I’m not sure what her real name is.