Audrey R. Sherman

12 years later...every butterfly fluttering by reminds me of my special friend...so often in my thoughts!

Remembering……

Audrey and I became friends while working at The Stitchery…a fabric store in the Westgate Plaza. I loved her sense of humor…I can picture her slightly mischievous smile and that distinctive chuckling laugh. Neither of us liked to sweep at night but we did it! Audrey sure knew how to sew…she was always there with a few pointers. She also got me hooked on needlework…crewel embroidery is still my favorite. She tried to teach me to tat…that was a disaster! Making lace was beyond the capability of my fingers!! She was so good at it!

Audrey loved nature…especially watching the birds. She knew every species! An expert on another winged creature...she introduced me to a very hands-on experience with patience and the metamorphosis of the Monarch Butterfly. She showed me how to search the underside of the milkweed leaf for the tiny white eggs. Helped me make a screened “cage”, told me what to put inside…what to feed that hungry caterpillar, then step-by-step what to watch for….from the munching black, yellow, and white caterpillar, ever growing, to the hanging, then swaying “J”, the beautiful green chrysalis with its golden spots… “Don’t be surprised”, she said, “when the chrysalis turns black…that means it’s almost ready.” Then the emergence of that very wet butterfly perched, opening and closing its wings, drying itself before it could take off to the heavens above. Audrey appreciated the wonder of nature and shared her passion with me… I am grateful.

Early one Saturday morning, shortly after I started working at the Athenaeum, I heard… “Do you have a key to the lift?” I turned around and we were both pleasantly surprised…it was Audrey. So began another phase of our relationship…albeit too short. She was so excited to share how far back into her family tree she had gone…I was impressed…what a researcher! Audrey did love the library…another mutual passion.

I loved Audrey’s regular visits to the dairy…she would drive in for her milk and especially for the heavy cream…she said it was the best. I have to agree with her. When she stopped driving, her neighbor would stop by to pick it up. A connection was kept.

Then one day I received a note in the mail…please don’t call or visit me anymore….it was from Audrey. I felt really sad, but Ann explained about the changes that were taking place. The Audrey who remembered me was slipping away. Then came the fall and the move to East Silver Street…visits in a new home.

I have been watching the changes in the homestead on Little River Road. It looks lovely, but I miss the old greenish structure…Audrey’s house…with her chair and bird feeder in the back yard. Like the butterfly it, too, has undergone its own metamorphosis…but it will always be Audrey’s house.

Legend tells us that butterflies are symbols of the soul and its journey into the afterlife. The change from egg, to earthbound caterpillar, to beautiful winged creature, symbolizes our journey through life and beyond. Audrey has experienced change…especially these last years…I believe that now her own metamorphosis is complete…her spirit is free and it makes me smile.