"How Great Thou Art"

Day 4--When my (Bas') family emigrated to Salt Lake City from Canada, Nick, mom's sister, and her family emigrated as well. Tante Nick still lives in Salt Lake City. She is 87 years old, the only survivor of a family of six siblings, all of whom emigrated from the Netherlands after WWII. 

On Friday we visited Tante Nick in her apartment in a senior citizen’s center. She lives on the third floor, with what she calls a “million dollar view” of the Rocky Mountains to the east. When I listened to her talk, I could hear the voice of my mom, who died a few months ago. The accent was the same. The vocabulary was the same. The perspectives were the same.

Tante Nick is full of life and joy. She walks with a cane but is otherwise able to care for herself. On Mondays, she leads a group of women who get together to play Bunco. On Tuesday, she goes shopping at Walmart with four other ladies. They each use a motorized grocery cart to get around the store. Tante Nick says that the staff at Walmart are always amused to see these four carts in a row going through the aisles. 

On Wednesday, Tante Nick goes to her favorite activity, a rehearsal of the harmonica band to which she has belonged for 10 years. While we were in her apartment, Tante Nick took out her 6-scale harmonica and played some of her favorite tunes for us. 

And, even though it had been 20 years since I had played a harmonica, I joined Tante Nick in playing "How Great Thou Art."

We had a great time with a great lady--a woman who continues to touch many in her building and in her life with her faith, joy, and compassion.

I’m grateful for my Tante Nick, and for her son, Paul, and daughter, Judy and their spouses, with whom we had dinner Friday night. It was wonderful to be able to renew relationships and to experience the love of family. A great and precious blessing.