I’ll See You When I See You
My great aunt is now 92-years old. She is a local treasure; her memory and experiences go beyond nearly anyone else that’s walking around south-central Pennsylvania. Once the stories get going you can’t help but smile and settle in to hear what happens next. They are that good!
So one would think that when you have the wisdom and experience that comes with 92 years of living you would know that you may be considered “old”. While she was born before World War 2 she has a kid’s heart.
We were sitting together in the emergency room on a rainy summer night. She was the patient, but she was keeping me entertained with some stories. She had just arrived by ambulance and while she needed some care for her condition, she was the normal Aunt Janet I’ve come to know for the last 45 years.
While we were there, she told me about her last ride in an ambulance and how much worse that particular ride was than the most recent one. I thought that maybe the driver was bad, or the nurses couldn’t find a vein for an IV or something. Nope, it was a bad experience because of what they called her.
The ambulance driver had the nerve, the audacity, the guts to call my great Aunt Janet an “elderly white female”! She overheard him calling in information about his precious cargo to the hospital and let it slip that she was of an age that he deemed “elderly”.
My aunt is white. She is a female. But she was fired up about the elderly part. She doesn’t seem elderly. She could probably still run if I asked her to and she still wears the running shoes I sold her years ago. Her memory is sharp. She really is like a walking, talking, human google-great aunt of describing how things used to be and were. Elderly might be how some describe 90-somethings, but she refuses to buy into that label. If only the ambulance driver knew that!
So I heard about the terrible ambulance ride for a bit and then we flashed back to the current situation at hand when the doctor came into the room. He explained that there was a procedure he could do to help with her condition. That was great news! But he followed with a bit of a “come to Jesus” talk where he explained that if she had come to the hospital right away his procedure would have had literally zero risk. If she had come a few hours later there would be a little more risk. But because she came 10 hours later, he was facing a more tricky process to do what he needed to do. The situation was more involved but still fixable; But I was picking up what he was laying down. There was no need to wait and see and by doing so things were more difficult. If there is a “next time” Aunt Janet needs to get herself some care much sooner. But while the doctor might have said she was late I was thankful she wasn’t out of time completely.
Now while others may have started worrying more my Aunt Janet remained…Aunt Janet. When it was time for me to leave the room so she could have her surgery we said a prayer. And then as I turned to head out to the waiting room I heard “I’ll see you when I see you!” That’s so profound and humorous despite the circumstances we found ourselves in.
You don’t make it 92 years by worrying about things incessantly. And apparently you can rejoice in whatever comes next when you know where you and the ones you love are heading!
Aunt Janet made it through her procedure in 15 minutes and we were reunited in the room and continued our conversation as if we were sitting and hanging out at the kitchen table.
Driving home I pieced together the world of Aunt Janet. I would describe it as this:
-Know who God made you to be. Don’t let other define you; even ambulance drivers!
-If you are still breathing you still have time to make decisions that affect your life, whether that’s a trip to the hospital or following Jesus.
-When you experience God for a while, whether it’s a day or 92 years, there is no need to worry. You’ll meet others again in heaven.
So there you have it, just some of the wisdom from my great Aunt Janet. Learn it, live it, and love it. And I’ll see you when I see you!
