"I loved John from the first moment I saw him in the hospital. Of course, George and I never had any children, so when my sister, Julia, had John, I was thrilled. I remember running quickly home from the maternity hospital the night he was born to beat the start of the nightly German bombing raids. I was out of breath and excitedly told everyone, 'He's the most beautiful baby in the hospital.' My father said, 'Well now, Mimi, all women say that about their babies.' So I said, 'No, no, he's not like the others. They're all red and wrinkly and he's smooth and beautiful.'
"Julia was a wonderful girl, all full of fun and life, and though she loved John dearly, it was clear after Freddie left on the ships that it was really better that he stay with George and me. Of course, things couldn't have worked out better if we'd planned it, because George and I loved him madly, and every day Julia would come over and play with him, so he really had two mothers in a way."
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Aunt Mimi sounds like a very controlling and selfish individual. What a toxic environment in which to grow up!
I think she loved John obsessively and she cared for him a lot, but in many ways she was selfish because John's mother wanted him but Mimi decided she wasn't a fit parent to have him. So he grew up without either parent around to call 'mom' or 'dad' and Mimi and her husband were very nice people, but she refused to let him call her 'mom' so he was always so very confused.
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