No matter how hard I search I can’t find the pin given to me by my two favorite aunts. It was small and inexpensive, my aunts couldn’t have afforded real gems, but its red, white and blue stars and stripes sparkle anyway.
I wear this tiny flag pin during the July 4th holiday to honor the ideals of my country and always place it back in my jewelry box. This year, I can’t find it and now, weeks after Independence Day, am still searching. As I sift through my jewelry box and search various nooks and crannies, memories of my two spinster aunts flood my mind.
The older aunt was Susan, a no-nonsense sturdy woman and the other one, Jessie, a sweet, dark-haired thin woman. The family called them Jessie/Susan as one word. They lived in a big white house in a small southeastern South Dakota town.
Every summer, my sister and I spent two weeks with them. Jessie and Susan made our visits a priority, treating us like princesses. They fixed our favorite meals. A huge pitcher of highly sweetened Kool- Aid was always available. The dining room table was reserved for a giant jig-saw puzzle that we all tried to finish before the end of our visit.
We helped them flip crepe-type pancakes in the summer kitchen. They set up a card table in the back yard, and we all sat together and shelled peas. We watched as Susan crouched behind the spirea bush or lurked on the porch, trying but failing, to catch the neighbor girl who kept rearranging her ceramic goose lawn statues in unsavory positions.
I shared Susan’s room and my sister shared Jessie’s. At night, Susan would tell me made-up fantastical stories.
Soon the adult world closed in, and I found myself too busy for more than short visits, but the memories stayed with me. In my thirties, with children of my own, I truly understood the generosity of Jessie and Susan and wrote them a letter, telling them how much they impacted my life. I also sent a large mail-order fruit basket.
Generous as always, they responded by sending me the small flag pin. Now I can’t find it, but when I do, I will wear it not only for love of my country but also of my aunts.
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