Dee Day

Today is my Auntie Dee's birthday. Dee is one of those rare individuals who can give you just the right encouragement at just the right time, like a ray of sunshine. It is always very intriguing to see what subject she is currently into. She jumps into what ever it might be with such exuberance, embraces it as her own and it spills off onto everyone she knows.

Recently, in my genealogical search, I met a distant cousin, through the internet, who described our common family branch as being very short, very round, very blond and very industrious. This is Dee to a tee. I don't think I inherited any of these traits, except for the round part. I often refer to her as the "Energizer Bunny", because of her boundless vitality. When she is not reading up on some new idea, she is tearing out flooring, ripping off wallpaper or outside scrubbing windows.

One step into her beautiful home and you can immediately see that she has a passion for the arts. Whenever we are together, we must always schedule a trip to an art gallery, no matter where in the country we might be.

Dee always signs her notes to me, "love and belonging", which is so very dear to me. I wish we were sharing some of that lovely belonging today with birthday cake and beautiful art.

Happy Birthday, Auntie. Love and belonging.