Noticed & Remembered

Beautiful flowers, eh?  My friend, Jade, took this photo, while on a women's retreat in March.  These sweet, little, purple blossoms were on the ground, surrounded by waist-high prairie grass.  You only saw them if you looked down; they could have easily been missed.  Beautiful nonetheless.  I loved how Jade mentioned that the flowers were just down there on the ground...being all beautiful for God, if for nobody else.  Isn't that a lovely, profound thought?  In human terms, we don't have to be famous, to be noticed by those who love us...especially the one who created us.  If we're not noticed by anyone, it's a joyful thought to know we are deeply loved by God. 

My Aunt Patty passed away, last Saturday, May 21st, after a nearly fourteen year battle with cancer.  In my mind & in my heart, she was simply one of the bravest people I've known.  Check out her smile, in the Race for the Cure photo!  Ten years into the fight, and she was still able to smile.  Many had the priviledge of knowing her smile, but even if they hadn't, I know someone who would have definitely noticed.  Just like with those purple wildflowers, I believe God took great delight in creating her & knowing her...seeing her smile, hearing her laugh & watching her love her family well.     

Pretty in Pink:  Aunt Patty & family at one of the many Race for the Cure walks

Aunt Patty, beyond the cancer, I will remember...

• How you made some of my birthday cakes for me, when I was a little girl.  Nice goin' on the Raggedy Ann & Cookie Monster cakes!!
• How your laugh could fill a room.  I'm really going to miss it. 
• How the day that you & Mom had a garage sale, I chose to ride my tricycle...off the two back steps of your house.  What was I thinking?  Now, I'm kind of glad I wasn't, because I still have a scar on my knee.  It reminds me of how you & Mom drove me to the hospital.  I sat on your lap & you put pressure on my open wound, with a blue wash cloth.  Thanks!
• How you and Uncle Danny were still in love...even after many years of marriage.  It would have been 40yrs this summer.  You still held hands & kissed.  To the very end, you loved each other well.  You two could have taught some Hollywood couples a thing or two about commitment.  :)  
• How you loved wearing your flip flops! 
• How you loved to read.   
• How you and Mom shopped for Cabbage Patch Kids, when they first arrived in stores.  I hear it was brutal, back in the day, searching for those dolls.  I appreciate your efforts to make Lisa's & my dreams come true that Christmas.  
• How you did the same, looking for a Toy Story character (Woody) for Riley.  Hilarious story!
• How you loved your family. 
• How you and Lisa talked on the phone most every day.  She told me that, once.  :)
• How when you were weak, your sense of humor was strong. Your fight against cancer was nothing short of inspirational.