Today was the memorial service for Aunt Dorothy. Almost 12 years ago, I married Tony and married into his family. Aunt Dorothy was never just Tony's aunt, she was my aunt too. She quickly became one of my favorite people because of her warmth and generosity. Aunt Dorothy helped me when I lived in Oregon because Tony was in the hospital there. She opened up her home to my parents so they could come and help. She opened up her home for us. She always had a smile on her face and something to share. I admired her because of her love of her family, her love of God, her love of beautiful flowers and gardens, her love of the outdoors and her love of adventures. She was my kind of woman. I admired her and respected her so much. I have always wanted to develop my gardening skills to match hers. Her home was always beautiful and inviting. She collected nativities like me! She was an artist and shared her talents online so we were able to see her love of capturing beautiful things.
Her memorial service was beautiful and fit her perfectly. Andrew gave the Eulogy and he shared some of her own words about being a mother. I think all of the mothers in the audience were breathing a sigh of relief to know that we really all do have feelings of inadequacy. It's normal. Dorothy was an extraordinary person who did things for others. Her friend, Kathy Haynie gave a beautiful tribute to her by stating 8 lessons she's learned by being Dorothy's friend over the years. Then she played two songs on the Ukulele.
When someone passes, it is comforting to know that we can see them again, however, there is still a major loss because there is so much we'd like to do with them still in this life. I keep thinking about her dedicated husband who had looked forward to traveling with her during his retirement. I think of the grand kids and the moments in their lives that she will miss. Then I have to flip things so that I'm not thinking about the memories that will be missed but the wonderful life and legacy she left during her 61 years of life. She lived a full life and though memories will be missed, there are thousands upon thousands of memories that everyone can treasure.
