26 January 2007

When I was about 20, I lived in NY with my aunt and uncle for about 3 months. I had just quit college. I was depressed, didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, and felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. My aunt and her family gave me refuge. There were so many good things about living with them. They really made me feel special, and loved. They wanted me to take as much time as I needed to figure out what to do with my life. They treated me like I was one of their own. My aunt and I were especially close and cooked together, shopped together, etc. They had a wonderful second home in Mt. Snow, Vermont. We went skiing every weekend. We ate out all the time. It was so different from my life at home. They told me I could stay with them for as long as I liked. Eventually I started thinking about doing hair. I had been an art major, and I thought that doing hair could be kind of like doing sculpture, which I loved. I started looking into schools in their area. To make a long story shorter, I went home to formally withdraw from school, get clothes, etc... and met a guy. I moved back home. I think it's been almost 30 years since I've seen my aunt. We've recently been e-mailing, and I sent her the link to this blog. This has all been a prelude to the point of this post: to share the wonderful e-mail she sent me tonight. It was a gift. Thank you Aunt Carolee.

Cheryl, I just have to tell you how much I love reading your blog. It is beautifully done, and I enjoyed your photos as well, particularly the ones of your daughter, the recent snow and the sunset.

It is such a down-to-earth, honest depiction of your life and the things that you do on a daily basis -- it's never boring, even though you think the tasks you describe are not exciting. I love when you talk about your clients and taking your Mom to lunch or dinner and what you both like to have -- and I look forward to reading about your book club and your visits with friends. I'm not sure about how to post a reply to your entries, so I'm writing to you and giving you permission to cut and paste this note if you'd like to do that (do I need to register?).

I also love reading about Emily's little dog -- and your "miracle" fish. Too bad so many years have gone by and we haven't been closer. You've never even met your "new" Uncle. Please send regards to everyone,

Love,
Auntie Carolee

8 comments:

Dave said...

You were very fortunate to have such a loving Aunt. She seems like she has a genuine desire to see you succeed in life. Thanks for sharing this as it brings to light how when we do little things for others, it can end up making a solid imapact on their lives.

Billy said...

Well there Auntie Carolee! Welcome to one of my favorite blogs on earth, hosted and written by your very talented neice. She is quite a gem and I do believe that you may have had something to do with that! With that, I do think you will enjoy this blog as much as the rest of her "regular" readers do. Welcome!

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Yea! It worked. I don't know what I did differently. It's funny; I don't really remember that period of your life (I'm the sister). I remember clearly keeping up with you while you were at Towson, and I knew you went to VT, but we must have lost touch. I guess I was trying to finish college and involved in my upcoming marriage. It's amazing how much the technology of cell phones and computers has changed the way we communicate now that we couldn't do then.

Billy said...

Thanks Cheryl. Thank you so much for the comment you left. I really appreciated that.

Andrew said...

I loved this post. You too have special people in your life and that makes me happy.

I hope you got to do your usual Saturday routine. I am a routine person and can so relate to you on that level.

Take care dear friend and thank you so much for all the many great comments you have left me and I am glad to see you getting so many as well. I am going to add you to my "Favorite Blogs" section with a short write up if you don't mind. Let me know and I will get that up.

Your friend,

Andrew

Anonymous said...

I hope my niece and nephews will find me to be that kind of Aunt. We all need people like this in our lives, how wonderful that you have these memories to cherish.
Take Care!
-P

austere said...

touchwood.She's a special person, your aunt.

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