Everyone touches others through relationships, interactions and shared experiences. We learn and grow through these contacts we have with others. And, as we all know, family can have some of the most powerful effects on us. This is part of being human and part of being a family.

Below is a series of memories cited here in honor of some of the people who have influenced my life over the years. This roster is by no means complete. It's a beginning, in alphabetical order.

Thank you, all, for being my family! ~Ann 04/19/01

My cousin Jeff grew up out in the country and had a small motorcycle when he was young. I used to visit in the summer every year and Jeff let me learn how to drive his motorcycle. I think the first one was a Bridgestone and the second one was a Yamaha, but I'm not sure. I loved riding Jeff's bike. And I was especially pleased that he trusted me with it. From Jeff I learned that family can also be friends and life is meant to be enjoyed sometimes.

My cousin Joel visited us at my mother's when my oldest daughter was still a toddler. He walked uptown one day and returned with a puppet which he used to play and fascinate my daughter. Joel gave the puppet to my daughter as a gift that day and she still has it. Joel showed us how good things will happen if you spend a little time and money to entertain a child. He made a lasting impression on mine.

We visited my Aunt Pat when her boys were small. They had a puppy named Puddles who was in the process of being housebroken. Pat obviously had her hands full and, with a good sense of humor, took things in stride. From Aunt Pat I learned that some days a puppy might piddle on the floor and there's no point getting upset about it.

As a kid, every summer I visited my aunt and uncle on the farm. My cousin Sue let them move a bed into one side of her room and she shared with me every year. I still vividly recall the nights in that room; the shear white curtains blowing with the warm summer breeze through the open windows, listening to the frogs and grasshoppers singing outside, occasionally hearing the animals, and marvelling that the family felt so safe at that time that they never locked their doors. I am forever grateful to Sue and her family for making me feel so welcome and included. And for sharing that side of her room by the south window overlooking the garden with her little cousin.