My Aunt Charlotte is soon going to be 100 years old. When I was a boy we used to take a week each Summer to travel 7 hours to where she lived and visit her and my Uncle Rich. She and my Mom acted like best friends more than sisters and I always delighted in seeing how happy Mom was when we visited her.

Even though I probably spent only a few months of my life visiting her at most, my Aunt Charlotte had a profound impact on my life. She lived her life with such kindness, with such love, laughter, and joy. She lit up every room she entered and made the rest of us better people just by her presence. And after my Mom died when she was only 55, I took a lot of comfort in writing her big sister. Sharing my life and struggles and growth and learning with her was like sharing them with my Mom. I am not sure why God has given my Aunt Charlotte so many years with us here but I am so very thankful everyday that He did.

I noticed something too when I looked at her pictures recently. All of her wrinkles were in the right places. They curved around her eyes and mouth to indicate where a lifetime’s worth of smiles had been. Yes, her face was well-wrinkled but so beautiful as well. It was a living testament to a life well-lived, a life full of love, a life full of kindness, a life full of laughter, a life full of joy. If I could live the rest of my life only half as well as she has lived hers then I will consider it a triumph.

God wants us all to have a well-lived life. God wants us all to spend our lives loving and helping each other. And God wants us to fill our days with joy, laughter, and smiles. May you always do so. May your heart grow warm. May your wrinkles grow deep. And may your soul shine bright just as my Aunt Charlotte’s has for all these years.

Joseph J. Mazzella