We all have our own dear memories of our beloved Aunt, Sister, and Friend Patty which are very personal and special to us. Today, I want to share what she was like as an aunt, and my godmother, in the eyes of a child growing up. She loved her nieces and nephews; it was apparent in the way she doted on them with her generosity and kindness, in the way she would always attentively listen and talk to us, in the way that one time I remember I was sitting in the little indoor porch of her old house and she came over and asked how I was doing, if I was having fun; I was alone in that room, gazing longingly at the fluffy, lounging cat at the scratching post, mentally petting it in my head because I knew her cats almost never let anyone pet them other than herself and Don — She loved her animals, and they loved her. — That instance was after one of her Easter egg hunts I so loved as a kid. Those Easter egg hunts are some of my fondest memories of her and of my youth. I remember how much joy she got in hiding those eggs and watching the kids discover them. She would give hints of where the very well hidden eggs were when we approached their location, and it would become a mini-competition to hunt down that one especially well-concealed egg. All the while she was smiling broadly, cheering excitedly when we finally discovered it. Afterwards my cousins and I would talk about those secret locations with laughter and renewed joy, and soon we decided we wanted to have fun hiding them too! And so us kids dragged out all the adults to search for our eggs, and I remember Aunt Patty being the one most enthusiastic about the “Adult Egg Hunt,” and we laughed and giggled and gave hints as she tried to find the eggs.  She never minded our antics and willingly went along with them. There was one time I was tromping about her room trying to find a good hiding spot for hide-and-seek and she came along and merely laughed at us, telling me only to be careful and not hurt myself. Another time I had made a catalog with the company name, “CMK’s,” Christina, Michelle, Katerina, and all of my wonderful family members would always kindly and generously support the creations we made and participate in the events we set up, but the most vivid memories I have of the heyday of CMK’s include Aunt Patty. There was the memory of her swinging the scarf I made around her neck and placing the crocheted hat on her head like a model asking, “How do I look?” dramatically, before saying how sincerely she loved the items she ordered, the memory of her bright smile and enthusiastic exclamations when she won the mini-games we made in our “carnival” event down at the shore.

She gave so much to me, these wonderful memories of my childhood, the nonjudgemental and abounding love of an aunt and a godmother who I remember radiated joy holding me during my baptism, and I never knew then exactly why this strange lady was so happy, not knowing how very special she would become to me… She gave so much to me, including some of the best clothes during Christmastime, this black and white coat being one of them — I absolutely adored my black and white coat that when I grew out of it I was as devastated as a girl could be about her most favorite coat. And so the next Christmas she went and hunted down another just so I could have my favorite coat and be happy again. That’s how she always was, gaining happiness from other’s happiness. She gave and gave, and perhaps it was because I was a child and took so much of that love, generosity and readiness for granted, but I realized in these later years as the time I got to see her dwindled, that I never got to truly express and say thank you for all the good memories; thank you not just the gifts you gave, but the time you spent joyfully with me; thank you accepting me without question or complaint, trying your best to understand the mind of a child, of Christina growing up; thank you for looking out for me and making all my times with you so very happy. And most importantly, I love you and miss you very much and couldn’t have a more amazing and warmhearted godmother than you, kindest, sweetest, funniest, dearest Aunt Patty. Thank you. I love you.