Sisters....

My Mother Dorothy had six sisters, two of which died in childhood.  From left to right: Margaret, Antonia, Dorothy, Clara and Viola: Antonia never married.  Aunt Vi is the only surviving sibling, still going strong at age 85.  Aunt Vi lives in Iowa and has two children, my first cousins Stephen and Beverly.  Stephen is married and has two sons, Beverly is married and lives in Colorado.   Michael and Cindy took me to visit Aunt Vi on the way home from our family vacation in May.  I feel my Aunt Vi is the closest I will get to meeting my Mother as Viola grew up with Dorothy, Aunt Vi is five years younger than Dorothy.  Aunt Vi is sharp as a tack and still quite active, she makes the BEST Rhubarb Jam that I ever tasted and generously gave me two jars to bring home.  Aunt Vi also embroidered a set of pillow cases for me.  I cherished my visit with Aunt Vi, I will be visiting her again over the upcoming Labor Day weekend and am really looking forward to that.  Aunt Vi and her daughter Bev both told me that not only do I look like my Mother but I also sound like her, I am told I have the same voice inflections as Dorothy and have the same calm soft voice.   Hearing that I look like my Mother and sound like my Mother is so important to me.  I have a hard time putting into words why this is so important to me.  I know it has something to do with making a connection to Dorothy, if I can ever really make sense of it I will of course share with you.  So for now I will just say that when I am told I resemble Dorothy or sound like Dorothy it brings me great joy!   During the three days I spent with Aunt Vi I got to look at many pictures of my Mother and her siblings and my Grandparents.  The time spent with Aunt Vi was priceless to me.  I was able to take pictures with my iPhone of all of her pictures; I had all of the pictures printed when I returned home, and with the exception of a few pictures they all turned out clear.  I loved hearing all the stories Aunt Vi told me of her childhood days, hearing how they grew up raised on a farm by my Grandparents, Anna and Joseph.  I am told that I would have adored my Grandmother Anna of whom I was named after.  Anna passed away in 1950, twelve years before I was born.  I believe that my Mother named me Anna so that Anna could look down from heaven and keep and eye on me, protect me from harm.  I must admit Anna did a really good job looking out for me and still is.  They were a close family that shared many joys and sorrows together. They were a strong family that loved one another dearly.  Hearing stories about my Mother and her family brought me so much joy!