Memories of Maga

Every now and then a certain person will come into your life that really makes a difference. And sometimes you don't realize it until they're gone. A few weeks ago we lost Jared's Aunt Mildred. She was one of those people. When I got the news she had died I instantly wished I had spent more time with her- even though I was lucky enough to have spent lots of time with her. We used to have Family Home Evening with her and her husband, Uncle Lloyd, cousin Amy and their neighbor Jackie. There are so many things about Aunt Mildred I don't want to forget so I am writing this post for that reason.

Aunt Mildred's home was open to anyone and everyone. There was no need to knock and wait for an answer when you went over. You simply gave a courtesy knock on the door and let yourself in. You would be welcomed with a loving "yatahe!," "well hello, hello!," "it's so good to see you!"- I could go on. And when you came in there was no such thing as a quick visit, and that was always okay with you. When you stepped into Aunt Mildred's world, she stepped into yours. You were all she cared about and anything else that she had been doing or working on could wait. I always felt like she had such great knowledge. She had a great ability to make you feel like you were doing a great job at whatever stage you were at in life.

One of the things that she told me over and over again was "it's always a red letter day when your babies start sitting up by themselves." I don't know how many times she told me that but I never got tired of hearing it- probably because it is so true!

One of my favorite memories happened right after Jared and I had moved to Taylor. Jared had gone over to his cousin's house and for some reason I was outside. Aunt Mildred drove by and stopped to talk. She invited me to jump in her truck so we could go find Jared. She was so proud that she was still able to drive stick. She boasted about the running boards someone had fabricated for her so she could more easily get in and out of the truck. At her funeral they talked about how you were always welcome in her home and her car- and it was so true!

Another memory that I have is the time we picked her up in the Richardson Family train. (You read that right, train. You can read a little more about it here.) The train lives at Cedar Ranch, my grandparents ranch. Which isn't a real ranch, no cattle or anything. That's just what we call it. Anyway, we had the train at our house because our family had put it in the Snowflake 24th of July Parade. It was quite a process to get it moved from Cedar Ranch to our house and back so before it had to go home we took the engine part and one car and drove over to Aunt Mildred's house. When we pulled up I ran in the house and told them we had something we wanted to show them. Aunt Mildred, Uncle Lloyd, Amy and Wacky Jackie (that's what Jared and I call their neighbor Jackie. She really isn't that wacky.) came out and they were all ecstatic! The Hatch's have a special place in their hearts for trains, their Grandpa Hatch (Mildred's dad) had his very own train at one point, a real one. They all climbed aboard (Uncle Lloyd jumped in front with Jared) and we went for a ride through town. Jared rang the bell most of the way and people were coming out of the woodwork to see what the heck was going on. It was unbelievable, a train driving down the streets of Taylor! We even let a few people ride. Aunt Mildred was in heaven! She held Addie most of the way and kept saying how wonderful the ride was. "Young man (referring to Jared), thank you for the ride."

Like I said, we had many wonderful Family Home Evenings with her. Since Uncle Lloyd had Sprue she generally made dessert. You are really limited when you can't use any kind of flour or grain. And yet, she always made the most delicious desserts. Aunt Mildred was such a blessing to me one night while I was pregnant with Addie. I was feeling horribly miserable when she made her awesomely delicious chocolate rice pudding. I don't know why but for the first time in a long time my stomach felt settled. I finally told her that one day and asked her for the recipe. Of course she gladly gave it but i have never tried to make it because it's "a little of this and a little of that." There aren't any measurements and I am afraid of ruining such a good memory.

While I was pregnant with Kimber, Aunt Mildred was so proud of me that I didn't "peek." Anytime someone was pregnant she would always ask "did they peek?" (Meaning did they find out?) She told me that I had done it the right way and that it didn't matter because I was going to love that baby no matter what it came out as.

Uncle Lloyd has a very green thumb. Each year his garden grows amazing amounts of squash, green beans, corn, cucumbers and so on. They were always so generous and never let us leave with out a bag of veggies. Last summer they gave us a huge bag filled with the best tomatoes I have ever tasted. We probably ate 60 of them.

Another memory that I have is the time she called to ask me if she could "sit with Addie" while I went to a benefit dinner. Addie was only about 3-4 months old at the time. I wish that Addie was able to remember that. I would love to know the things Aunt Mildred said to her.

One night after I had had Addie my mom was sitting with me in the living room when I heard some banging on the back door. When I went to see who it was there stood Aunt Mildred. She had brought a blanket for Addie. She came in and visited with us for a while. Every visit with Aunt Mildred is a memorable one.

The first time I met Aunt Mildred was about a week after Jared and I got married. Every 4th of July she would host a biscuits and gravy breakfast at her house. Jared introduced me to her, she gave me a big hug and treated me like she had known me all my life. All in a matter of a few seconds. I hope I can make people feel like that.

Another fun thing she did was on Halloween. They would set up a table out front of their house, make some hot chocolate and hand it out along with candy. Every one that came by got to have a warm cup of hot chocolate and a good visit. There were no strangers.

A few months before Kimber was born Aunt Mildred took a turn for worse. She had a heart attack and had to be taken to the hospital in Flagstaff. While there she had surgery for a few different things. It was pretty scary and we didn't think she would be coming home. She was there for quite some time. One Sunday after church we decided to make the 2 hour drive to see her. I will never regret that. Somehow we got Addie into the hospital without anyone noticing. When we finally got to her room a nurse saw us and told us that Addie was too young to be there but since we had made it that far, she would let us visit. We sat and talked for a few hours and she told us about all of the good people that were taking care of her and that had come to see her. I wish I could remember what else was said but it's the memory that counts. And after all the sicknesses and surguries, she made a great recovery and we got to have her for a few more years.

This is just a small bit of the memories that I have. I truly learned so much from Aunt Mildred. I said it while she was alive and I still say it now, that she was one of my favorite people that ever lived. She had this ability to make you feel so special and that you were so important. I hope that I can be more like that. I hope that when people come to my house that I don't hurry them off just to get something else done. I hope that when people talk to me that I will really listen and care about what they say.

I love Aunt Mildred and I started missing her as soon as I got the news, but thankfully she left a legacy and lots and lots of good memories.