Aunt Bea

This week’s topic for Obladi, a new blog about getting older and all it entails, is changing expectations.

As you've gotten older, have you found that you are doing things you never thought you would? Maybe something you never thought you could and finally learned? Or maybe something you swore you never would, but find yourself doing? Or even maybe something your mother said you would do one day!

I had been planning a blog post called I wanted to be Aunt Bea and this seems to fit perfectly here. When I was growing up, and I’m sure it’s still the same today the emphasis for girls was you had to be thin. Even a hint of extra fat was unacceptable. I wasn’t a fat child, but I was a healthy one. I bordered on just over the acceptable and was called chubby. I look at older pictures and realize that all my angst about this was not necessary as I was just a normal sized child. While all my friends wanted to be Sophia Loren or any of the other super beautiful thin women I wanted to be Aunt Bea. For those who don’t know who Aunt Bea is catch some old episodes of Andy Griffith. Aunt Bea was the maiden aunt who took care of Andy and Opie (his son) after his wife died. She was a big happy loving woman whose baked goods and canned fruit and veggies won prizes at the state fair. Everyone loved her and no one care whether she was fat or thin. All through my childhood I couldn’t wait to get old so I could get as fat as I wanted and no one would care.

Well, one day I found I had gotten fat. I mean really fat! And suddenly realized it wasn’t what I wanted. Oh, I still didn’t want to be thin and could care less about my size, but I did reach a point where I had to trim it down some. After all, even Aunt Bea wasn’t that fat. Of course, I fell short of my plans and expectations in other ways too. I can’t bake worth a darn! I couldn’t make a pie crust if my life depended on it. Canning is too much work and not worth the time or energy! I am not a very nurturing person, as Aunt Bea, was and certainly wouldn’t put up with the things she did with such a good nature. No, I am not and will never be Aunt Bea. But, I find while that was an interesting ideal to aspire to, it is not my reality.

So, Aunt Bea you were an inspiration to me as a young child, but dang, I am not and never will be Aunt Bea!