A post 100 years in the making
100 years ago today, my great-Aunt Margaret was born. She lived an uncommon life for women in that era. Never married and without children, she earned a Masters Degree in nursing, was passionate, independent and a world traveler. She wrote me letters from the day I was born, and every single one somehow let me know she expected great things from me.
When she passed in 2009, her obituary read in part:
"Margaret J. Eklund reached out to the Lord, joining family and friends who had gone before her... She graduated from St. John the Baptist and St. Anne School of Nursing in Dayton, as well as receiving her master's in nursing and hospital administration from SU and Penn State. She fought lifelong to set the highest standards in healthcare for all and for the elevation of as well as respect for the nursing community. Instrumental in the concept and realization of Community General Hospital as well as its first director of nursing, this pioneer in hospital and health administration retired after spearheading New York's watchdog organization, setting standards for nursing home and hospital care for the aging. .. She leaves several generations of nieces and nephews whose lives are forever shaped by her intellect, fierce commitment to rights of others and joy of living. From all of us, we love you and enjoy the walk."
A former co-worker interviewed after her death said “She was meticulous and demanding, and her starched whites, including cuff links, were legendary”.
Legendary.
I don’t care if it was just about her cuff links and starched whites. To have a description of you include the word “legendary”, is something to strive towards.
She was honest, wild and brave. She and her younger sister (my grandmother) both were. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t miss their wisdom. But in the moments I allow myself to be quiet for long enough, I feel them all around me.
And I'm not afraid of anything.
100 years ago, I am sure my great-grandmother was not thinking the biography of her first born would read the way it does. Or that a year later, when she gave birth to my grandmother, that her first born's, first born would be sitting in a bedroom, writing on a laptop, still feeling so connected to all of them.
So today, on what would have been Aunt Margaret's 100th birthday, I celebrate her the way she would want me to. By stepping out of my comfort zone, embracing all of those words she spoke and wrote to me, hoping one day 100 years from now, I will
be described as "legendary".
