The Women that Made Me ~ Aunt Dot

Today I would like to introduce you to

my Dad's oldest sister

my Aunt Dot

born Dorothy Ann

this is the woman that kept my grandmother's memory alive

for over 25 years

Grampy said that "Barb will never be gone as long as Dot is around"

he was a wise man

she was just like her mother in so many ways

although she did not quilt and knit and sew like Grammy

she looked like her ~ talked like her

and cooked like her

she and her husband kept the farm going

opened it up for the summer

used it like a cottage

she kept up the flower beds and roamed the fields looking for

berries and wildflowers

an avid bird watcher too ~ she was many things

to many people

Aunt Dot, Dad & Aunt Jeanne

when I got married she gave me 

her Mother's cameo as I had told her years before

that I wanted to wear it on my wedding day

little did I know that she did not just lend it to me

she gave it to me ~ to keep

and I will cherish it always

Aunt Dot, Dad, Mom & Carolyn seated in front
Family Reunion ~ Rockport Hall 

like her mother she was a strong woman

who was struck down with a sad disease

aphasia took away her speech 

I was into the hospital to see her

while Mom was in there last year

she could not speak

but the recognition was still in her face

the eyes never change

and I could see her searching my face

and I held her hand and talked to her

remembering the woman she used to be 

she passed away a week or so after that visit

and I knew that instinct that sent me from the chapel

to her room was maybe not instinct at all

but a gentle nudge

I am so glad I made it in there

to say goodbye

and when I walk through the fields at the farm

I smile as I know

I am carrying on a family tradition.