if ever an angel

This year has been unkind to us from the very beginning — more so, even, than last year.In January, we said a sudden, heartbreaking goodbye to my mom. Then, at 17:45 on Friday, 23 October, my great-aunt Betsie passed away at the age of 94 years and six months. With her passing, another era came to an end.She insisted that we call her simply “Betsie”, and she was an institution in our family. Her doors were always open to visitors; despite raising four children, with pets underfoot, her house was ever spotless. And there was invariably something delicious waiting for whoever came through the door. Hospitality was never a special occasion in Betsie’s home. It was simply the way she lived.Now she, too, is gone: the last member of my family’s Silent Generation. It is strange to think that this familiar face had lived through the Great Depression and the Second World War, witnessing nearly a century of change. The past seemed less remote with her still here, a living thread connecting us…