Auntie's Tree

Dear Diary,

I was worried about my  crab apple tree after our snowstorm in late April just as it was budding.  I shouldn't have been concerned.  It is in full bloom now and it is a glorious sight to see.  The morning light just illuminates it.  I planted the tree in 2000,  6 months after my dear Aunt Doris died...in her memory.  It has grown into a lovely tree and she was the loveliest of women.  Auntie was a gifted painter so I created a "painted" version of these blossoms today. 

I lived with her while I completed my graduate studies at Harvard back in the late 1970's.  We would talk late into the night.  We always had the best conversations.  She wanted to know what I was learning everyday and was very like an older sister to me as much as an aunt.  I cherish my time with her and I miss her very much, especially when her tree is in bloom.

When we look back over our lives we can clearly pick-out one or two people who had a significant impact on us.  Auntie was one of mine.  We remember them vividly even years after their passing...they are always with us because who we are was greatly shaped by who they were.