#great-aunt

And I never asked her about it when she was still with us because 1) she was extremely hard of hearing and did not wearing hearing aids, so it was easier to have conversation at a minimum, and 2) I did not grow up in a family where, "So, like, was my Great-Aunt queer?" is a question you can just toss into the room. Hell, when my mother brought up that my Great-Aunt had had a roommate at one time, I asked, "Like, a roommate, or do you think they were a couple?" And my mother replied along the lines of, "Ugh, why does everyone assume roommate means more than roommate?" And, woman, I definitely recall one of my aunts (not the great-aunt, obvs) bringing her "roommate" to a visit, and YOU were the one who said "roommate," and my aunt was the one who went, "SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND." So, there's literal recent history about why I asked.

First we went to cemetery. She planted flowers on her husband’s grave. Then we went to the market to get some food. She told mom and I to get whatever we would like to eat, she pays them all (tho she wanted pizza so we ended up taking 2 different pizzas on top of everything else :’D). I also took small ice-cream (mint) because I had horrible heartburn. Mom said she would pay it, but when her aunt saw the ice-cream, she told her to toss it on the cash register desk. She would pay it - and she did.

She fed us so well at her house! 2 different pizzas, bread, wieners, coffee (which I didn’t drink tho), milk, ready food etc. She would had make pancakes / wafers to us too, but we told her not to. We told her there was food plenty enough and we can’t eat all of them. She looked at us, stating: “I eat like a horse. I can eat 6 to 7 huge potatoes in one go on top of everything else.”

After eating we chatted some and our conversation turned on people with kids and people who are child-free by choice. She then said; “I already have done documents, as well as told my children and grand-children, that whenever and if I ever start to talk silly thing (meaning dementia), you instantly grab me by the neck and ass and throw me in a care facility. I will not let myself become a burden to them. I have lived my life and it’s right for them to live theirs. Like when their own children finally leaves the home, they have to start to take care of me. They can’t live their own life.”

Because sad thing, at least in Finland what I know, is that most parents do kids ONLY so that they would have someone to take care of them when they are old. It’s not your child’s “job” to take care of you. Unless they want to without being forced, pressured etc. into it.

Mom then announced that me and my sis are not going to have kids, ever. About my bro, we don’t know. If he doesn’t want kids either, our family’s line ends with us. I told that it’s actually a good thing since we have so shitty genes (lots of different health issues) that there’s no point spreading them forward. Mom laughed and said something which I didn’t hear (mom likes to speak over me :’D) but her aunt just said firmly, with kindness while laughing; “Don’t think too big about your genes *mom’s name*.”

At some point the subject changed again. I didn’t listen so carefully now since I was checking my phone, but great-aunt was talking about how she had bought shaped foam, but since she hadn’t used it much, the foam had got stuck in the bottle. Great-aunt hadn’t got it out so it had pissed her off :’D She looked at us, clearly holding her laugh back, as she told us; “You know what I did? I took the damn thing outside and cut it in half with an ax.” :’DDD

Like, seriously! This little old lady is 80 this year and she lives alone in small farm area house. She does everything alone there, even cut the logs with her ax. She also goes to her own small forest with the ax and has been “skinning” fallen trees with it :’D She cuts her grass and tree fence etc. while, at times, having little “letting out steam” moments as she put it, ahah! I really wanna be like her when I grow up! <3

When we were leaving, she playfully looked at me and said; “Keep your mom in check.” :’D

After this lovely visit mom and I went to near by town’s market. I have never been there before so this was nice new experience. Mom bought 2 bags of ready meatballs and the bags were moist from the outside. At the cash register I mentioned about it to mom and she asked were they really. I said: “Grope those balls a bit and you will feel the moist.”