For Auntie Caryl
My auntie Caryl died last week. She was not really my aunt but a cousin by marriage. Her mom's second marriage was to my dad's older brother. She decided she was too old to be my cousin and so I always called her auntie Caryl. She was really everyone's auntie, everyone's mother and everyone's friend. She was a beautiful person inside and out. Auntie Caryl was a presence in my life for as long as I can remember. She was my Sunday school teacher and responsible for helping me see the beauty of a church community even though I won't pretend to be anywhere near as devout as she was. She also was the organist at our beautiful Methodist church in my little home town of Rockland, Michigan as long as I can remember. She played "Amazing Grace" for my dad's funeral and then later my mom's. She was a piano teacher for many of the kids in Rockland and the surrounding area. I wanted to take lessons and my pare...