We all have relatives we love or not.

I fell in love with my aunt Olga at an early age- maybe 10 years old- and that feeling never changed. The first time I saw her I thought she was the most beautiful woman- other than my mom- on the planet, and I wanted to look just like her when I grew up. And it wasn’t her extraordinary talent as a cook that hooked me further, but her laugh:) When she laughs- to this day- my world is better:) I love her stories and the way she tells them- clearly a great pointer for the writer within me- and the love towards life that I see in her. Through her I met her wonderful sisters and brothers, then their families and I felt rich. I smiled at their jokes but inside I simply burst with happiness for the love they so easily shared with me. Every advise I got from her healed a part of my soul and I loved her that much deeper. In fact, when my father made me go to Moldova to meet a stranger in order to marry him- to keep me from marrying Chet- tanti Olga had a few pieces of advise. The first ones are private, but next she said;

‘Carmen, don’t worry. Everything is in God’s hands. If you’re meant to marry this boy from Moldova, you will. But if God wants you to marry Chet, you will. Let’s not go out of our way to meet this boy. Let it work itself out.” And it did work itself out. I never met the boy and I married Chet:) (These details are found in my novel:Out of Darkness).

She can take the frustrations of life- and she had a few in her lifetime- and turn them into something positive. Few have that gifting. And every time I think about her a smile gets plastered across my face.

In fact, I have to wipe a tear away from my eyes- tears of joy- as I’m writing about her now. I miss her everyday and I’m so glad she’s my aunt.

I hope this story makes you think of a relative you love just as much as I love aunt Olga:)

And my cousins are just as fantastic as their mom and dad, I have few awesome memories together:)

God bless:)