4 ~ Premature Grey Hair

By Kay Heitsch

Before I attended the boarding school, I lived with my Aunt Carmeleta and Uncle Fred in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a year. In the winter, Grand Rapids is cold and has a lot of snow.

Aunt Carmel liked to keep my cousins and me busy doing fun things in the winter. We went sledding a lot, and we also enjoyed ice skating.

As nature would have it, Aunt Carmel was prematurely grey. At the time, she had not colored her hair, even though she was only in her 30's.

One day, Aunt Carmeleta and my cousins and I were all ice skating when some boys started to chase us around on the ice. These boys would grab our hats and take off skating with them.

Aunt Carmeleta looked like one of us with her hat on. However, when these boys grabbed her hat and saw the grey hair, they stopped cold.

I'll never forget the look on their faces as they apologized over and over. I smile every time I think of this funny story.

Aunt Carmeleta has passed on now. However, a few years later, she did start to color her hair brown. My Mom never did color her hair, as the religious group she belonged to disapproved.

I praise God for Aunt Carmeleta's kindness and understanding in my life. No matter what, Aunt Carmeleta accepted me for me.

"Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise Him." Psalm 102:18