Anne was my kid. The only one of six that I changed diapers for and ate french toast with. I read her books-Run Zebra Run, Pokey Little Puppy, etc. E-E was what she called herself then, with the crinkled nose to match the little nappy hair.
She loved her Beesh and PaPa--they were her life then--besides her mom, and Sebastian--the retarded cat and Gumbo, his wife.
Beesh and PaPa loved her, napped with her, read to her, and took her to school.
When she was christened, he made a carved christening bowl just for her--for the Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi. It was carved with fish, and glazed in a fine, soft green--"Antique Green" at Shearwater Pottery--fired in the big, old fuel oil fired kiln--built in 1928 for Shearwater by PaPa's brother Peter, who threw the bowl that was carved. The fish, even though he didn't realize it, represented her--Pisces. We treasured her every move.
She lived with us til she was four--then they moved to Texas. She found her Dad and her treasured five siblings--whom she loved with all her heart as if they were her own. And her best friend Angela Buller--who was her heart for years--then she had seizures and Anne's heart broke for her.
I know all these things because I am her aunt Adele. Big Deal she called me--her little friend was Little Deal.
She was always beautiful--from the little curly top to the tall incredible woman she became. I loved her dearly and still do.
It was hard for her to come back home to Mississippi--her PaPa was gone, and Beesh--so much older and not well. It was not the same place that it was when she was small. So much more complicated--as it is for all of us when we grow older. We are no longer "bulletproof".
She wanted so much to fix all the things that weren't right--she tried so hard. I wish so much that she could have, but it just wasn't meant to be. She told me she hated her life.
And the headaches started--like her head would explode--a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. So we went to see Dr Furr and he sent her to the eye doctor. She had vision problems too. Dr. Sutton told her that sometimes growing girls had too much spinal fluid and that could cause the pressure in her eyes that he saw. He sent her to the hospital for an MRI--then they found it.
She came in that day and said "I wish I could say it's not a toomah" (never knew which movie that came from) but it was. She called Marti and told her "don't cry Mommie" and sat stoically while we cried and tried to figure out what to do next.
Of course her mom figured it out, and we went to see Social Security to transfer things to Texas. Her mom and Bob came to get her. When she left us again, she wouldn't take her blue rain goblets with her because that meant she "wouldn't be coming back". So we kept them at Beesh's to be sure she'd come back.
She never turned to look at me when they drove away.
I saw her afew more times before she left us for good--but it was fleeting--too short. I do know she was really happy with her Bruce--her one true love. They gave each other more in a short time than most people do in 50 years.
All my love to you Annie--my little curly headed kid.
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