Dot

My Aunt Dot died this morning. She was quite a character, and I’ll miss her.

Aunt Dot in June of 1981

Aunt Dot in June of 1981

Dot had a hard life. She married my Uncle Billy, and they only had a short time together before he died, leaving her a widow in her late twenties, with three small daughters. About a decade later, her oldest daughter, Susan, died a few days after Christmas, after being thrown from a horse.

Dot was a hard worker. She had help from Grandma and my Aunt Anne, her parents, and  her husband’s brothers (including my Dad), but she worked hard to raise her daughters, earn a living, and keep house. In later years, she’d talk about how she’d get up around 4 to clean house and then go on her way.  When she went for a walk, it was more of march– and you had to walk fast to keep up.

Dot was also very plain spoken. She could say the most outrageous things sometimes. Because of this, there was a tendency to joke about her.  I used to say she’d make a good sitcom character with only a little exaggeration. “I was up at four to wash and wax the floors and polish all the plumbing, and if they think I’m going to to…”

And yet, she was a heck of a lot of fun to have around. She’d had a lot of sadness in her life, yes, but she’d learned how to live with it nonetheless, and enjoy her life. She enjoyed trips to Rockport on the train with her friends, or walks to Castle Island with my mother.  When she moved to Georgia to be closer to her daughter Ruthie, life around here became a lot drabber.  I’ll miss her.