Tweedle Dum

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Not long after my Uncle Bert passed, his wife, my aunt Dawn passed away. Aunt Dawn had 5 kids - all equally as sassy and smart as she was - and she was an AWESOME Mother and Aunt. She was perfect as a matriarch - she held it together for the family and kept them all in line! I will tell you that the one thing that I feel impacted me the most about Dawn is the same thing I get from my mom. It is a sense of strength as a woman, taking charge, keeping things in control. She was sure of herself, direct and didn't take crap from anyone. She'd let you have it. I get this ability from her honest! I wouldn't trade it for the world either. Just because you are direct does not mean you are a mean person - although many people (especially in the south) see it this way. They don't know what to do with this. I would rather someone be direct with me and tell me the truth rather than having to weed through the lack of clarity of someone beating around the bush. Life is too short for that. Get on with it!  

 Aunt Dawn came to my wedding with all of my female cousins as Alice in Wonderland characters. Her and my cousin Wendy were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. This blew me away. I was so excited when I saw this! She had to be in her late 70s at the time, yet she still had a sense of humor and levity. It was game ON! And she had fun - she LOVED her family so much, and that included me/Christy/Mom and Dad. It showed every day that she was alive with us on this earth. A few Christmas' before she passed on, Wendy was helping clean out their house and they found her collection of Alice in Wonderland Christmas ornaments. They sent them to me - and I cannot tell you how touching this was. I've even broken two of them and put them back together with super glue!!! I put them on my tree every year now and think about each one of them at the wedding and all the good memories of my NY family over the years as I put them on the tree.

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