Tuesday, August 06, 2013

2013 August Happiness Challenge -- Day 5

Today's happiness: My Aunt Jo. She's my Godmother, my dad's baby sister. She and my mother had a difficult relationship, and my father had a difficult relationship with everyone, so my household wasn't very close to her. When she moved to Florida, back in the 1980s, we all kinda lost track of her, except for the occasional Christmas card. Then, in the summer of 2010, she started reaching out to me. We correspond regularly on FB and at least once a week by email.

I appreciate this so much. she reminds me of when I was a little girl and so loved by my grandpa ("You were so the favorite in our house"). She is very supportive of the me I am today and thinks I'm bright and talented. When my mother died, she flew out and stood by me at the funeral, even though her relationship with my mother wasn't great.

And today I found a book from her in the mail. It's Patricia Cornwell's biography of Ruth Graham, the wife of Billy Graham. I've always meant to read it, but never got around to it. We're both Cornwell fans, and when Jo was done with her copy, she dropped it in the mail to me. How thoughtful!

There's a symmetry to this, too. There's a book on my bedroom floor, a mystery I finished recently, that I've been meaning to send her.



5 comments:

  1. Beautiful story, reconnecting with people always makes me smile. My Happiness Post for today is also about re-connecting. How wonderful the two of you can kindle a closeness that others missed.
    One Room School House, Happiness

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  2. It's so nice that you're reconnecting, and the bonds are still there.

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  3. She sounds like a keeper to me!

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  4. She sounds awesome! I have had similar experiences with my family members... My dad and his siblings were not very close when I was growing up, so I rarely saw them, especially my aunt and cousins, but as of late I've actually gotten to know them a lot better, especially my aunt who has come out to visit several times! It is great when you get to "discover" your family!

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