People live on in memory...
...and that's why I want to share this little story.
My godmother died two days ago. She had been in poor health for quite some time, and in the end, it was a relief.
My godmother was a nun and lived in a convent. She started out as a nurse, then trained as a teacher and later ran a children's home. We visited her several times a year, and for me it was always a completely different world. Children from broken families, children with mental and/or physical disabilities, found a kind of home there. I could talk about that for a while, but that's not what this post is about. Instead, I'd like to share a small story about my aunt. I must have been about 15 years old and wanted a Bad Religion CD for my birthday. To this day, I don't know how my aunt found out about this wish, but on my birthday I received a package from her. Along with a heartfelt letter was a small package. I unwrapped it and was simply happy. It was my first Bad Religion CD, not the one I wanted, but a Bad Religion CD nonetheless. At 15, I didn't think much of it, but later it dawned on me.
My aunt went into a record store as a nun and bought a Bad Religion CD for her godchild. I would have loved to have seen the look on the salesperson's face. But there's one thing I still remember to this day. The next time I saw her in person, I thanked her, of course, and she told me that at first she didn't want to buy a CD by a band called Bad Religion. Nevertheless, she bought the CD, went to the nearest library, picked up an English dictionary, and translated the lyrics word for word. She told me that she thought some of the lyrics were very good and that she could give me this CD with a clear conscience. Yes, that's how she was. A strong personality who formed her own opinions, stood up for them, and also looked beyond the horizon. And that's exactly how I remember her.