My Life Ramblings

My Aunt Karen is an amazing, loving, beautiful lady full of energy and fun. She’s the youngest of my Mom’s six siblings and also the person that would babysit my sister, Bobbie, and I when we were little.

Aunt Karen would take Bobbie and I to lots of different places (i.e. the park, out for ice cream, shopping, etc…) when she watched us, but the place we went to most frequently was the Roller Skating Rink.

Aunt Karen could skate. She had her own roller skates with cute little pom-poms sitting on the toes. I remember being in awe of how easy she made it look to effortlessly circle around the rink, frontwards and backwards. She practically danced on her roller skates. I’m pretty certain she would flirt on them as well. Back then I didn’t recognize it, but now I can smile at the memory.

Going to the Roller Rink with Aunt Karen was an education in itself. She made everything a type of celebration that you just didn’t want to miss. I don’t remember her ever telling my sister and I “no” at anytime, although I’m sure she probably should have. We were not angels, by any means.

If you’ve ever been roller skating, you know that there’s a time during the evening where the DJ announces the contest where you “Shoot the Duck.” If you’ve never heard of this before, it’s where you have a partner and you line up at a starting line. One person crouches down on their skates, sometimes with one foot extended, and the other person in the team pushes the other one around the rink in a race. Aunt Karen was a natural at this. I can’t tell you how many times I fell on my butt, but with the advantage of youth, I’d pop back up and skate again. I think the winner received a free ice cream cone. It sounds silly now, but back then it seemed like the best prize ever.

I have many other memories of outings with Aunt Karen. There was this time we went to a Frontier Day event in a little town. I remember Aunt Karen encouraging my sister and I to enter a contest where you climbed up a greased pole. I believe the prize was a little piglet, but I could be wrong. We didn’t win, but it sure was exciting to try. You just never knew what was going to happen when you went on an adventure with Aunt Karen!

Aunt Karen & Kindness go Hand-in-Hand

The impact my aunt has had on me continues well past childhood. She’s the type of person that does not believe in limiting yourself. You don’t say, “I can’t” with Aunt Karen. She believes that dreams can come true if you believe in yourself and work hard enough. Aunt Karen has always made me feel like all things are possible. That is a gift in itself.

My aunt continues to live her life full of energy and love. She’s the type of person that would help anyone, whether she knew them or not. She’s always giving of herself – to her family, friends, community, and Faith.

Aunt Karen has known about my love of books and my dream to become an author. When Life at Loon Lake and Motor Mania were published, she quickly purchased and read them. It just so happens that she shares my love of literature, but even if I was into selling ugly clay toads with sequin hats, she would have bought them and said they were perfect for her flower gardens!

In the past year or two, my aunt has become sick. She was diagnosed with Cancer, as three of her siblings have been. I pray for her often. Her health has been better recently, but Cancer is such an ugly thing that it’s hard to stop the worrying.

If you are reading this, and you feel comfortable doing so, I’d like to ask if you could take a minute and say a quick prayer for Aunt Karen’s health. Thank you.

Goals for Today:

• Work on Pinterest for an Hour
• Go for a Walk
• Play Basketball with my Kids