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