Memories of My Aunt

On my recipe blog, I posted a new cookie recipe today. It reminded me of my Aunt Mary Jo, who passed away when I was twelve. All of us cousins adored her! She got married when I was 6, but didn't have any kiddos for a while, so she lavished extra attention on us.


This picture was taken in August 1979 (thanks to my cousin A for scanning and e-mailing this!).


Aunt Mary Jo is the one with her back to the camera, turned around with the big smile. That's how I remember her, always with that big smile. My mom is just above her head, and their oldest sister (my Aunt J) is to the left of mom. (We have another aunt, but she had moved out of state already.)


I am to the right of Aunt Mary Jo, with the red halter top. I think that was the last time I wore a halter top! My cousin M is on the other side of Aunt Mary Jo, and my sister is next to her.


We had lots of great fun together, the aunts and the girl cousins. We got together to bake cookies at Christmas time. We went to Lake Erie at least once in the summer. Plus lots of get togethers at each aunt's house.


I think one reason I have such fond memories of this time is the innocence that I had. Also, I think if we realized that Aunt Mary Jo would die so young (age 30), we would have been more uptight about spending time together. I just remember the fun we had. And the closeness I felt with my aunts, uncles, and cousins.


The women in this picture are part of the reason I keep a recipe blog. They are daughters of my maternal grandmother, to whom my recipe blog is dedicated. Grandma passed away when I was six, but I remember what an amazing cook she was. And she passed that on to her daughters, our moms.


I was feeling a bit nostalgic today. Thanks for letting me stroll down memory lane! I'll get back to sharing my love story with Hubby next week.