Day 6 of 25 Days of Christmas and the gifts my ancestors gave to me.

Denise and I were cousins, but she was more like a sister. She was a wild child lol.

We had a lot of great times. We would see Tangled Puppet, a Tribute band to the Hip, and I believe she and I went to see The Hip together in Windsor. Of course, I had to stop on the side of the road so she could get her smoke in before we got to town.

She would come camping with my parents and I up in Forest, she fell for a guy up there and she didn’t know I had a teenage crush on him.

She was an amazing listener, a great mom. She loved her sons and grandkids with everything she was.

I will always remember the summer we camped in Forest together and the giant waterslide story will always be my favorite. Let’s say there was a lot of alcohol, and a white lounge chair involved, and you had to be there to get the full effect.

We had a lot of great talks, and I felt like you could tell her anything without being judged. Of course, you would also get the occasional one finger solute if you pissed her off or even for fun depending on the mood.

Her gifts to me were:

· Her love of Tom Petty and endless listening to the good stuff

· Her recipes as she loved to bake

· Her carefree spirit

· Her ability to listen and give great advice

· Her love of family and the endless tales about our family

· Making me feel important and hear when she asked me for advice.

I will always look at Amaretto and Coors Light and think of her, and no she didn’t put them together, but we would do shots of one and a beer chaser growing up.

Remember the good times this holiday season is one way to not miss our loved ones so much. They may not be here but they will never be forgotten.

I challenge you to be like Denise and have fun in everything you do. I would love to add it to my recipe collection, so if you feel like sharing I would love to have your favorite one.

And please share a remarkable memory of one of your cousins.

Remember if your feeling stuck this holiday season reaches out to a friend, give yourself grace and allow yourself to feel whatever your feeling and remember that you matter too.

Find one of your favorite things to do and have fun this holiday season.

Be unstoppable in all that you do.

Dorothy