June 2

One year ago today my daughter graduated from medical school. Whatever you have heard about how difficult medical school is, multiply that by ten and that's how hard it really is. You have to be smart, really really smart, to get into medical school. Then you have to stay that smart while you ENDURE all that is required of you in classes, school politics, and "hoop jumping." And that is just the first two years. At UNECOM, students are responsible for planning monthly rotations for years three and four, including making arrangments and/or payment for housing and food. Graduation does not just mark the completion of medical school ~ in my daughter's case it was a testament to her strength, integrity, and ability to persevere.

For weeks before graduation my daughter told us the ceremony was on June 3. Then a friend of hers checked the school's website and learned graduation was on June 2. When she told me, I said that of course it was on June 2. That was the date of my Aunt Kate's birthday....

Born Mary Catherine Frank, my Aunt Kate was actually my great-aunt. She raised my mom from the age of 5 and was for all intents and purposes my grandmother. I could not have loved her more. She was a positive presence and provided a safe haven in my life.

Aunt Kate graduated from college, the only college graduate in a family of farmers. She was a teacher before she married, a profession she picked up again years later. I learned about the value of education from her. Although she did not see me graduate from college, she knew before she died that I had returned to college for a degree in education. She was proud of me, and she would have celebrated the accomplishments of my own children with cards, carefully chosen presents, and phone calls.

Like many people of her generation, she didn't have an easy life. She knew about ration stamps during WWII and doing what she needed to do to scratch out a living for herself and her family. Aunt Kate also knew how to manage money, however much she had. When she returned to teaching, she set a little bit aside each week. Eventually she would have enough saved for new carpet or a dining room table and hutch. Before I left for college she gave me several crisp one hundred dollar bills, fresh from storage in the freezer.

Aunt Kate liked Ken from the beginning. She had grilled me about where his people were from and where he attended church. Ken liked to eat and Aunt Kate liked to cook, so they hit it off. She did not approve when we moved in together, but she still loved us and would call early on Sunday mornings to see if we were going to church. From Aunt Kate I learned about unconditional love.

There were things we didn't agree on and things we didn't talk about. She had strong opinions. She was a staunch Republican and believed that Nixon had been framed. Aunt Kate accepted people she knew personally but didn't always understand the way our society was changing. She read the newspaper, listened to the news, and watched "Lawrence Welk" every Saturday night.

Aunt Kate did not have an easy life. She grew up in rural Virginia, made her own clothes, canned her own food, and knew how to stretch a dollar. Waste not, want not described the way she lived her life. For my wedding she bought a gown and had her hair done, an indication of just how much the day meant to her. We had a photo taken of her and my uncle, all dressed up, and framed it for them.

My great-aunt never made the trip to Maine. She talked about it, but it was much farther than the trip she and my uncle took to Amish country in Lancaster, PA. When I asked my uncle about bringing Aunt Kate to see me, because she didn't often drive, he said that I lived too far out west. I settled for sending them photos and visiting as often as I could.

Yes, I think of Aunt Kate on June 2. Last year was especially sweet because I knew Aunt Kate would appreciate that my daughter graduated from medical school on her great-great-aunt's birthday.