I'm participating in "Five Minute Friday" over at katemotaung.com today. For five minutes, bloggers are encouraged to "free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation."

The writing prompt this week is Welcome.

She turns 105 in March. That makes her 104. My Aunt Marjorie lives a few states away but when I visit "home" we always try to stop in and see her. She lived on her own in a little house until she was 99. Being a widowed woman with no children, it became necessary for her to move closer to family. So, she went into a rest home at that point.

The first time we visited her, what a welcome! She greeted us at the door and ushered us into the dining area. We sat down and she went behind the counter to make us drinks. Then, she gave us bags of popcorn from the old-fashioned popcorn cart.

At 99-years old, in a rest home and serving us a snack.

That's Aunt Marjorie. Technically my great aunt. She doesn't know anything but active. Not in the "too busy" sense we operate in today. She just keeps going in a way that says, "If I stop, I might not get going again."

We visited her again over the holidays. Every time we brace ourselves. The welcome this time might not be same. She might reach a point where she doesn't recognize us. Her health may be failing. 

We didn't need to be concerned. She welcomed us with full awareness. She gave us hugs. For just over an hour, we all took turns sitting with her and visiting. Her memory isn't what it used to be. We have to repeat things a lot. She has a hard time knowing who all the kids belong to.

But in a hundred and four little ways, she's still our Aunt Marjorie. Beautiful. Healthy looking. Gracious. She can recount an amazing amount of memories from the past. We often talk family history to be sure we have it right. Someday, we'll be responsible for passing it down.

For at 104, she surely won't be with us forever.