My Grandma Lived for Herself, and This Pissed Everyone Off
A motivational story about loving yourself
…My grandmother had a sister, Aunt Shira, whom the family did not approve of. Do you know why?..
Not because she lived alone.
Not because she was not married and had no children.
Not because she had a lover — a big fish from the Ministry of Health.
Not for the fact that she appeared at family events only when she needed to, although she was invited to all of them.
And because she had the audacity to turn off her home phone when she didn’t want to talk to anyone. And she connected the caller ID as soon as possible, and paid for it.
What a chickie! Why did she decide to choose who not to talk to?
Everything was simple — Aunt Shira loved herself more than anyone.
And she didn’t want anything that would interfere with her comfort.
Was she sad? Did she regret her choice?
Oh no.
She died at 93, and until 87 she went “to the sauna with the girls,” looked after herself, and three years ago she still was a stately tall lady with the whitest, short-cropped hair. Until she was 70, she traveled with her married lover to Hawaii. She walked around Waikiki and drank wine on the waterfront.
Then he died, unfortunately.
She has mastered the joys of online shopping. She was sincerely surprised when relatives asked if they could buy her groceries. And then she arrogantly listed all the delivery services she knew.
And she definitely did not need a glass of water, which relatives must certainly serve before death.
This is a lesson for us all. You should always appreciate and love yourself most of all.
Everything else is insignificant.
We come into this world alone, and we leave alone. This is not about decay and loneliness — but about the most important person in our lives.
Me.
You.
