My Auntie Marie from the west of Ireland can only be described as a free spirit. She is one of the most caring, loving, generous people I know. She has always been young at heart. As a child I always remembered looking at her differently to other aunts and uncles. I always saw her as being cooler, edgier and more in touch with the real world than the others.
Auntie Marie used to send a package of gifts to my family every Christmas. There would be so much excitement when the package arrived. It was the only present we were allowed to open on Christmas eve. Marie would seem to know exactly what we wanted – somehow she would get an insight into what toy, game or practical joke that would interest us. She had an insight into our personalities that the others would never see.
As a mark of respect to my Auntie Marie, I decided to return the favour. She mentioned a couple of years ago that she was interested in the Internet. I was explaining to her that the Internet was like a giant encyclopedia with access to information on everything imaginable. I asked her what she would like me to look up for her. She paused for a second or two and then mentioned that a friend of hers was raving about how Vinegar was such a useful product.
So there and then I googled it for her and came across a book called Vinegar – 1001 Practical Uses by Margaret Briggs. I had it delivered to her house as a surprise and when it arrived she immediately called me to thank me for the gift. This made her day – week even. She was over the moon.
I’ve kept up the tradition and to date I’ve bought her a book on the uses of Honey and more recently a book on the uses of Onions & Garlic by the same author. She sent me the following humorous text message two Weeks ago when she received the Onion & garlic book;
Guess what! I got a lovely prezzie from a secret Santa today – a book about onions and garlic. Now I have vinegar, honey and onion books so I am thinking of giving talks on what I have learned from them. I may need an accountant so be ready for a call. I am really thankful to Santa and his helper – I think [boyfriend] is his name. Love and kisses to Santa and [boyfriend] xx
