and the george bailey award goes to...

my dear great-aunt marie. one of our favorite songbirds passed away today. i am thankful i had the chance to see her (and sing to her!) one last time. marie truly lived a wonderful life. i'll never forget her love of dominoes and card games. her love for singing and chit chat. marie was in the mormon tabernacle choir and played dolly in the musical hello dolly long ago. she had such style and always wore costume jewelry and shimmery seasonal sweaters. she had a gorgeous case of red dishes. she loved red! i served sparkling cider in some of her glasses just last sunday night. they are on my top shelf, always ready for a holiday party. when my family lived in england, she sent me letters with puffy cabbage patch stickers. my four year old self lapped up all her attention. i remember a family sing-along, sitting in her lap, rocking side to side, singing you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey. her beautiful voice booming in my ear. now i do the same with my little ones. she played the ukulele and was always up for late-night shenanigans. she had a big personality and a happy, hearty grin.

all is calm,
all is bright.
sleep in heavenly peace. 

love you.

p.s my family had a christmas tradition of giving George Bailey Awards to loved ones who had made a special impact in our lives that year. i have fond memories of my family–all around the table–writing letters to neighbors explaining how important they were to us. read more about it here.

image via It's A Wonderful Life