Thinking about it ...I suppose if you are a member of my family you find it a bit odd that I would elect my "Auntie Carolyn" as my very 1st winner of "The Exceptional Woman of the Week."
Truth be known.... I admit, I spent a few moments of my childhood in fear that I would upset her. Why you say?
Well, I'm not really sure...she never EVER did anything harmful to me personally. In fact...she always did the exact opposite. Always very nice to me. In my Mother's absence, which was a typical weekend she was usually working in Chicago. Auntie Carolyn always seemed to go to great lengths to protect me. I'm sure she also probably frequently felt obligated to drag me along wherever she took my (best friend & cousin) Karyn.
Growing up, I was always close to her daughter Karyn. Auntie Carolyn always extended a warm welcome to me.... inviting me to her home. She took me to the beach, shopping etc etc. She even took me to church in Michigan so I could spend more time with Karyn. She invited me to join their family for extended stays in Michigan. She was always nice to my brothers & sisters....no matter how much of a pain we were. AND TRUST ME WE WERE A PAIN!
As I sit here, I recall fond memories of sitting in the back seat of her powder blue, wood grain station wagon with all the girl cousins, she'd be flying down Blue Star Highway in South Haven (Auntie Carolyn loved to speed) she'd pop in a 8 track of Neil Diamond & we'd all sing along. Sweet Caroline......I thought she was so cool. So interesting.....so pretty!
She really did a lot for me....so why is it that I would fear her in any way?
Why is it that many of my siblings & cousins visiting "
Michigan House" seemed to fear her?
Once in a while you'd hear the "Grown up" relatives talking a little sarcastic....I never was quite sure who they were
talkin bout but for some reason you pick up on the fact that they were possibly referring to "Aunt Carolyn." I don't think anyone meant any harm....it was more like they were cracking little jokes....but it happened on
occasion & it often made me wonder why?
Well lets take a look at this but first....let me explain.....the term "Michigan House" for those of you that are not related family.
'MICHIGAN HOUSE oh MICHIGAN HOUSE"
I think I can safely say that most of my childhood cousins will agree that "Michigan House" was & still is one of the most magical places on earth.
Correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression the concept of "Michigan House" was born somewhere in the vicinity of 1970.....as a result of my Father "Uncle Joe," my cousin "Uncle Eddie" my cousin "Uncle Joey" & other various uncles (cousins) hunting/fishing trip in Michigan. From what I can recall they were driving along during this MANLY MAN trip & AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT.....came across "Michigan House" & the property was for sale.
I'm not sure which "Uncle" of mine had the great idea to somehow create an extended family collective purchase of this property. But whoever it was "Thank You!"
Hence "Michigan House" was born :)
There were 5 lucky families that purchased the property collectively.
Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Eddie - with cousins Karyn & Janet
Aunt Marilyn & Uncle Kenny -with cousins Kenny, Joey, Scottie & Carol Ann
Aunt Judy & Uncle Joey- with cousins Donna, Joey, Wendy & Jennifer
Aunt Gloria & Uncle Tommy - with cousins Tommy, Julie & Bret
Uncle Joe & Aunt Katie - My family (we got the largest bedroom
cuz we had the most!!) Susan Betsy, Anne, Joey, John &
occasionally Sharon & Faith
Hope I didn't forget anyone!
The rest of our huge family members.....got to visit on
occasion.... but they weren't lucky enough to be dedicated one of the Fabulous Five!
I still recall the 1st day we arrived at Michigan House. Everyone standing in the driveway. It really did seem a little bit intimidating. This great big tall house & after all I was only 3 yrs old ( & just a little bit shy....or so I've been told) I can remember clinging to my Father's leg, thinking "Who are all these people?"
The property was a former resort located in South Haven, MI which consisted of this great big White
Colonial type home. It had 3 fireplaces, a huge commercial kitchen, huge ballroom, living & dining
rms, 5 bedrooms & this creepy, musty old basement. Yuck! We also had 2 small cottages (one of which we referred to as the shed) The home with its big grand white columns & lush grounds were just beautiful, (it almost resembled a big plantation home) We had a long beautiful concrete staircase leading up to the home, tennis courts, shuffle board, a park with swing sets, monkey bars, 2 teeter totters etc etc.
But the best thing of all was the 100 ft of private Lake Michigan frontage & the cable car to get down to the beach!
So there we all are....every weekend packing our getaway bags....excited as can be
cuz we are escaping to "MICHIGAN!" We get to be with our cousins....we get to run, scream & explore. We get to play "Beauty
Pageant" Donna always won the swim suit contest! We played "tag" "Ghost in the Graveyard" & "it!" We'd get to stay up late & do puzzles with Aunt Gloria & drink tea with Aunt Judy! Most of the time we had no TV on, but I don't think anyone really ever missed it. We had no Game boy,
Wii, heck we barely had a phone unless you wanted to talk on the party line.
Every trip up to Mich well I'm sure we must have drove my Dad crazy "with the Dad are we almost there's??" & the "Dad can you stop at the rest area I can't hold it anymore & I we really really need to stop so I can collect 15 thousand pamphlets on the wonderful state of Michigan!"
Each weekend (usually Sat mornings, late Friday nights if you were lucky!) we would pull up in the driveway....you just couldn't wait to find out which aunt & uncles cars were there. Is it gonna be uncle Tommy's gold one? "Oh I see a van....Uncle Joey & Aunt Judy are probably here!" If you were really lucky they would all be there! It was always the more cousins the better!
That would start the weekend! So much to do, forts to build,
tree houses to climb, flowers to pick, baby rabbits to find, horses to feed we were in our own little heaven in Michigan.
Looking back I realize how lucky we really were. Here we are all living in the concrete jungle, hustle & bustle of
Chicagoland.....& yet we get to escape to our very own private little rural paradise every weekend.
When the morning time came the "Cousins" were well aware that you just better not go up & down the red stairs a thousand times. The rule was "Not until one of the adults unhooked the dreaded hook from the latch that was intentionally placed way too high up for any of us kids to reach. Although I do have a faint memory of my Brother John breaking the code of rules on this one on occasion.
None of the Aunts & Uncles were being mean....to us kids... they were were just trying to recover from the lack of sleep they missed out on the night before...."Uncle Joe was blowing the house down again with his snoring all night & no one got any rest!" Sometimes he would pause in the middle of a long snort....you would finally think you were gonna get some rest....& then like clock work it would start up again.
Most of the time we spent our summers basking on our own private beach, sometimes the "Aunts" would haul all of us to the beach "IN TOWN" that was cool too. They would watch all of us all day long. Haul all the coolers stuffed with homemade sandwiches. Sometimes they Aunts would treat us to Dairy Queen or
Shermans but Remember the cardinal rule cousins...."ABSOLUTELY NO SWIMMING UNTIL YOU WAITED 1/2 HOUR AFTER EATING LUNCH"
I remember one
EMBARRASSING instance when my red bathing suit top fell down on the public beach! I was only a little girl but I COULD HAVE JUST DIED! I was just hoping the sand would swallow me up. But "Auntie Carolyn" was their to save the day & make it all better. She just pooh poohed it off like nothing even happened.
Fondest memories of every weekend was going out to dinner every Sat night with our own little extended newly created "Michigan House Family" (it was salad bar.... all the way baby!) for any of the cool cousins! We didn't want a sit down meal & salad bar was a built in excuse to get up & run around like a kid. The Aunts & Uncles never seemed to mind though but I'm sure we drove the staff nuts. The red carpet
restaurant was the best.... sometimes the "Uncles" would bowl in the bowling alley a while & then we'd get to stay out longer. I remember Uncle Eddie trying to help me out with my lovely lofting. Auntie Carolyn
chiming in "Follow through
Anzie, follow through" It's funny but still to this day every time I go bowling I can hear her voice...."Follow through
Anzie, make sure you follow through." Sometimes their was also dancing at the Red Carpet. We'd get to order Kiddie Cocktails & my Dad would tell my brother Joey...."Hey Joey go ask Aunt Carolyn for a dance." Sometimes we would go to the Derby or even the "Tara" Once in a while we'd have pizza at the
joynt down the street & on rare
occasions we go to
Saugatuck and hang out at the Butler. One thing you could count on was it would always be a great time by "Cousins" standards!
If we couldn't go out for dinner you could always count on "One of the hundred left over from last year boxes of stale cereal in the cabinet" but usually one of the aunt's or all of them would be there to pitch in & keep the whole army fed. A small task by no means all that shopping, lugging it all home, preparation, cooking & then cleaning up the mess afterwards! Considering my Mom was rarely able to be there & pitch in....I realize that was a nice gesture on the "Aunt's" part. I can still taste Auntie Marilyn's baked chicken & salad tossed with
Italian dressing. (to this day I never have been quite able to duplicate it) I guess I will never forget the 1970's kitchen either. With all the Aunts & Uncles working together to provide us with furniture & a nice place to be. I can vividly recall the Aqua Blue Stove & Uncle Kenny getting us the Yellow & Green Daisy Wallpaper. Oh, I just can't fail to mention Aunt Gloria's famous
Manicotti. I had never had anything like that prior to becoming an official member of the Fabulous Five. Auntie Gloria was sure a beauty. She always had the best tan I can still remember her reading her book while simultaneously attempting to put on her face every morning at the kitchen table :)
Speaking of tans what the heck was that concoction that Aunt Carolyn used to keep in the refrigerator? I think she used it for her tan. Does anyone remember the name?
Oh yes & I must not forget the Sat night b
on fires! All the cousins would spend 1/2 the day collecting sticks in the woods....because if you did chances were one of the "Uncles" was bound to give in & reward us by building the cousins the biggest
bon fire you would ever lay your eyes on!
& without fail one of the aunt's (usually Aunt Carolyn) was bound to yell out the window "Did you kids spray yourself down with bug spray?"
Oh yes & lets not forget the roasted
marsh mellows, hot dogs &
smores that were always in abundance. Don't know how they got there all I know is someone always was
lookin out for us Cousins!
Later you would usually find the "Uncles" playing cards & drinking beer in the dining room. We'd sneak in to see what was up. I'd always ask "Uncle Joe" (Daddy) for a sip of his
Meisterbrau. I always loved the "Uncles!" Every one of them were so cool! Uncle Tommy reminded me of Elvis....so handsome & Uncle Kenny used to say "
Anzie!!" & pat me on the head. Uncle Joey never yelled about anything (not that any of them did) & then there was Uncle Eddie...you always new Uncle Eddie would keep you safe no matter what....he was the strong silent type! They all had nicknames for each other....it was like their own private secret code. One of them would yell out "
Wha da ya know Bones?" I can't remember who Bones was for the life of me but I'm sure he cool....after all he was one of the Uncles!
I
remember all the cousins thought we were pretty lucky because our Daddy was "Uncle Joe" Uncle Joe was pretty much uncle to everyone even all my Uncles & Aunts. In actuality my Uncle's & Aunt's weren't technically "Uncles & Aunts they were really cousins to my siblings & I..... But they were much older than us.....adults so me & my siblings chose to respectively refer to them as Aunts & Uncles. Anyway "Uncle Joe" was apparently the coolest....all the cousins still remember the
sombreros he bought us & that he always took us to the candy store in Glen!
Then there was
Dinks? That was Karyn...I don't know where or who came up with
Dinks....but it fits perfectly. I don't think Auntie Carolyn called Karyn
Dinks though....I just remember her referring to
Dinks as Karyn Mary. As in "Karyn Mary, Get some shoes on those feet!" Janet her sister was Janet Lynn but that was only if she was in trouble....not very often.
One time
Dinks & I caught a frog & decided to take a bath with it....what were we thinking? The frog jumped out of the tub & down the heat register. Aunt Carolyn found out & bellowed "Karyn Mary I better not wake up with a frog on my head!" of course me &
Dinks found that hysterical.
Then we have the time Janet decided to make some toast....all of a sudden it stunk really bad....somehow she figured out their was a dead mouse on fire in the toaster & screamed.
Dinks & I found that hysterical too.
Oh & I can't forget Wendy...poor little Wendy...she was so cute...big blue eyes &
blond hair. She was kinda like my brother John (never could seem to get enough attention) Well lets just say Wendy was a little
mischievous. I recall the time she poured shampoo all over our bedroom carpet. But the best was the time The Aunts & older girl cousins were putting together the dreaded "Monopoly Puzzle" the outside of the puzzle was easy enough....ya know with the different colored properties...there was St James Place, Park Place etc. But the inside was a real killer every piece looked the same pale blue...I remember the Aunts & us sitting there for days. Just as we were about to put the last few pieces in....here comes cute little Wendy.....as she bravely risks all & pushes the entire puzzle off the table & onto the floor. We all just kinda stood there in bewilderment.
Dinks however proceeded to chase Wendy full speed down to the cliff. I'm sure glad
Dinks didn't catch her at that moment....it would have been
disastrous. Poor Wendy couldn't return for hours. No hard feelings Wendy....you're my cousin & I love ya just the same!
Jennifer was the youngest cousin I think well if not, almost....Jen just seemed to be the
sweeetest I remember Aunt Judy bringing her to the beach as a baby....she never seemed to make a peep. Always quiet...always sweet.
Then there was my brother John, he was harmless enough alright, but another prank puller. I can't recall how many times he stood on the roof of the deck trying to peak in our bedroom window & catch one of the girl cousins changing. Oh yes & then the time we were on our way back from the "Big Road" The Big Road was in actuality a tiny road but to us as children it is big. As an adult I always chuckle to myself
each time I pass the BIG ROAD
cuz it is just so tiny. But at the end their was an awesome creek complete with tire swing (the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.) All the cousins took their turn on the tire....poor John was so little he fell in, got his clothes all wet & streaked all the way home. That was a big deal by cousin's standards!
Oh we can't forget the holiday parties & celebrations! There was always something to celebrate!
Every 4
th of July everyone would chip in & we would have a
Hawaiian Luau themed party! Complete with fireworks. I recall thinking the boy cousins were crazy to handle the bottle rockets! Auntie Carolyn telling me & Karyn we should only play with the sparklers. The "Uncles" would put on a beautiful display & the all the boys would want to take part. One time "Uncle Tommy & Aunt Marilyn took us to the big display of fireworks in town. They were just beautiful. Ever since then I make sure I go every year, if possible. South Haven's Fireworks are my favorite. Well anyway, that night their was just so many people trying to leave afterwards & all at the same time. I remember "Auntie Marilyn" got out of the car, stood in front of all the oncoming cars so we could pull our car out & then she hopped back in & we took off leaving everyone else in the dust. I just couldn't believe she was brave enough to do that...it was pretty cool.
Oh & then we had Scottie & Tommy! The cute cousins....not that they weren't all cute but Scottie & Tommy were more in mine & Karyn's age bracket. Bronzed &
Blond...what more can a 10 yr old girl ask for??? EVEN IF THEY ARE JUST....YOUR COUSINS.... IT WAS STILL COOL TO FOLLOW THEM AROUND!
God does this family put out some great looking boys! OR WHAT? Every single one of my male cousins are SO HANDSOME!
In the initial years it seemed Scottie (or Scooter as Karyn & I later nick named him) & Tommy were always getting into some type of mischief. Later the tradition would be taken on by Joey & John. Sometimes Little Joey would join them. I'm not sure which of the boy cousins threw paint on the "Sunset Junction" Antique sign but for some reason I got the distinct feeling some of the "Uncles" were secretly pleased. The young male "cousins" claimed it was payback in retaliation for the "
Hippy's" next door stealing our hanging outdoor chandelier. I don't think Grace
Bertolli was too happy bout that poor sign.
Which leads me to Jack
Bertolli....
hmmmm all I remember is Jack
hookin the cousins up with some type of paint remover. Good thing he was our friend....
cuz the majority of us were covered in Bright Red Oil Based Paint. I think we
stole the paint from the "Uncles" basement to paint our makeshift clubhouse on the side of the garage. Jack saved the day &
didn't even give us up to the Aunts & Uncles. Thanks Jack!
Then we have JULIE...with her beautiful hazel eyes...always laughing! I can still recall a complete weekend when all Julie did was walk around & yell "Lets Make a Deal" Why you ask?
really have no idea....she was just Julie & we all loved her for it! God do I miss her!
Then there was Janet....oh beautiful Janet...the poor thing....all she wanted was to be left alone...but Karyn & I weren't havin it....we just had to tag along. I always wanted to be like her...she was the coolest with her long dark hair & cool friends. She would announce "Anzie Pansy" every time she saw me in fact if memory serves me right I think she still says it. She was a great artist. So creative.
Cousin Bretzi-the cutest baby I have ever laid eyes on....all I remember about Bretzi was those dark curls & bright Blue Moon ice cream all over his face. Oh yes & then the time Bretzi locked himself in the upstairs bathroom. Auntie Gloria begging for him to unlock the door. What a cutie!
One thing for sure.....we had a lot of Joe's in our family....which made for a little bit of confusion if you didn't quite understand the logic behind the Fab Five rendition of how to grab the attention of the appropriate Joseph.....For example their was Uncle Joe-my dad, Uncle Joey - Aunt Judy's husband) Little Joe-which was my 2nd cousin Joey Fuessel & then my brother- Joey Tamel
Speaking of Fuessels....I'm not sure if any other cousins without the last name Fuessel ever felt left out....but I was a Tamel....& as proud as I am to be a Tamel it was just a little bit odd to not be a Fuessel when you were one of the Fabulous Five Families of "Michigan House" because almost all of the gang had the last name of Fuessel.
Now as an adult I realize how lucky I am to be a Tamel. In fact, from what I understand I am the last generation of Tamels.... unless one of my brothers has a kid. Besides Auntie Ann Fuessel, was originally Ann Tamel & without the Tamel's....we wouldn't even have Fuessels....so I guess I'm pretty lucky afterall....Isn't it funny the way a young mind thinks?
I can still feel the cool night breeze coming off the lake. The sound of the waves...so soothing. It made for great sleeping conditions & I was always secretly glad we had a large family because from our room you could capture a cool evening breeze, over hear what was going on after hours at the adult bonfire & you could still get the benefit of all the beautiful to die for sunsets :)
Then there was the painting of the house....Uncle Tommy brought up a cherry picker & everyone seemed to work together to get the job done & oh what a big job it was.
My favorite time of the year was Memorial Day when we opened up "Michigan House" I can still smell the lingering scent of moth balls "Auntie Carolyn" would place around the house each fall before we closed up shop. The worst was Labor Day cuz you knew the "Uncles" were gonna turn go down in the well & turn off the water, the toliets were gonna be all filled with some antifreeze blue stuff & it would seem like forever until it was the end of May again.
The adults always had these association meetings...they seemed so private....none of the cousins were ever allowed....all of the surrounding cottage owners would gather with the "Aunts & Uncles" in the big house. I always wondered what the heck they were doing in there! It seemed so structured. The Bertolli's would show up. It was like a secret little society. Like the Mason meetings or something of that nature. Auntie Carolyn always seemed to be in charge....but in charge of what I often wondered?
Then their was also the dreaded slush fund....it always sounded so funny to me. SLUSH FUND what the heck was that?? It was a glass jar, kept up high, out of the reach of any of the Cousins. I can still remember some of the "Aunts" saying "don't forget the slush fund" & my Dad reaching in his pocket...I didn't get it....what was the big secret up on the high shelf with the bottle of Kahlua?
Yes the cousins all had their share of trouble....all the Aunts & Uncles thought me and Janet were the angels....but we weren't we were just quiet about it. Right Janet?
One time my Uncle Eddie took his entire family to Puerto Rico where Dinks purchased some Rum. You could do that back in the day...when there was no drinking age! She hid it in her suitcase & brought it to Michigan. So one spring day Karyn & I decided it would be a good idea to go to the beach & drink the rum straight.... because we had nothing to mix it with. I only had a little Rum but Karyn drank a lot. A real lot.
She was so sick....the poor gal...we barely got her up the stairs....once inside we hid away in the tiny cot filled bedroom that Karyn, Janet & (Little) Joey had...(it was formerly the Mens bathroom but the "Uncles" converted it into a getaway extradornaire (even though it still had the mens peeping basin thingy) we couldn't care less cuz we had our privacy!" Poor little Joey, me & Dinks...well we just took over his space...but he never seemed to mind. Anyway Dinks was really sick....so we all just went to sleep in the middle of the day. We woke up to Auntie Carolyn knocking on the door concerned that Dinks was coming down with something. Somehow we passed it off....but we did kinda feel a little guilty, for lying.
Then we have the time we conned Scooter into buying us some beer at the little store/pizza joynt. It was pretty much the same scenario only both me & Karen were hammered, laughing hysterically the entire time attempting to make it back up the endless stairs from the beach.
When we got a little older the cousins started going out to Max's in South Haven. We'd dance & drink all night. On one little special occassion I remember Dinks & I meeting some guys....who enticed us by convincing us they had a boat. Us being the sweet little girls we were decided that this would be a great opportunity to move in on our chances of being toted around on a huge boat the next day....so we agreed to go to the boat with them that night. Well the good news is...the guys did have a boat....the bad news was....they neglected to tell us....it wasn't in water....it was thier Daddy's boat & it was on a trailer being pulled by a pick up truck. I'm not sure why but somehow we convinced them to follow us back to Michigan House that evening. I think Auntie Carolyn was just a wee bit concerned when we pulled up with a truck load of guys toting a huge boat.
YES THOSE WERE THE DAYS...WEREN'T THEY. NO WORRIES JUST GOOD OLE FUN!
Over the years we had so much fun...but time started flying by....most of the cousins were already in or done with high school. The cousins started showing up less & less....we had parties & other obligations in Chicago. We started getting our own friends & identities.
When we could show up we would bring our own boyfriends & friends. We were allowed to drink beer...Aunt Carolyn would just make us turn over the car keys....prior. NO BIGGIE! Most of the time we would hang out in the Big Room a/k/a the ballroom. We would play quarters on this huge antique table my Dad donated to the house. It was a lot of fun.
We started having our legendary Prom parties filling the ballroom with wall to wall cots of the Cousins & thier friends!
Soon to follow.....even though no one anticipated it we all kinda started drifting apart. The aunts & uncles weren't seeing eye to eye.... it just didn't seem the same.
I never never ever will forget those childhood summers spent with the cousins, the Aunt's & the Uncle's. I don't think any of us cousin's will....they were the best....& we were very lucky.
When I think of all the energy & money it took to provide that to us "Cousins" I sure do have a never ending respect for the Aunts & Uncles. Not many of my friends had any sort of weekend paradise like we did. The lucky Fab Five.
Which brings me to the real reason I have written this lengthy conglomeration of my dear childhood memories spent in Michigan.
My very First Elected "Exceptional Woman of the Week"
Auntie Carolyn
Now, I know in the beginning I mentioned that as a child I had on occassion feared Auntie Carolyn. I guess I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that I was a kid, she was an adult. She had rules, something I wasn't really accustom to. I guess rules were necessary to effectively run a commune like "Michigan House." But I know now as an adult that rules & trying to do what is best for children.... should not have been confused with good intentions. Caring is good & Auntie Carolyn truly cared about our happiness & our welfare. She loved us & there is nothing wrong will love.
I realize that not many of the Aunt's, Uncle's or Cousin's had the pleasure of really knowing my Mother Katie. But my Mother was a very smart woman....I often recall her telling my Dad how much she admired & respected Auntie Carolyn. It wasn't until her passing & I as a young woman understood why. The reason is because Auntie Carolyn deserves to be respected & admired. She is one of the most intelligent women I know. She is kind, caring, hard working & funny. Very funny. She took care of business for herself, for her family & for us....all of us. I can remember her spending an entire weekend planting flowers by the porch. She didn't have to do that for all of us to enjoy. But she did! I know now as an adult...I understand what was happening in those Secret Society meetings, I know now why & what the purpose of the dreaded slush fund was. I realize it took a great deal of effort for someone to take on the responsibility of all that dang paperwork. Communicating to all involved. Collecting funds & having to be the bad guy...really isn't a fun job. It's not a job anyone wants to do. After being a manager myself....I realize that someone has to be the "Bad Guy" in every functioning situation. That is if....
...the members would like the group to continue to exist.
I don't know if anyone ever really said much of a thank you to "Auntie Carolyn" for all her efforts.
SO AUNTIE CAROLYN I'M SAYING IT NOW....
THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I just wanted to do that now because I may never get another chance & even though I will never know for sure, (my parents are gone now) I somehow feel now...as an adult....the great "Michigan House" would have most likely never survived throughout the most important impressionable years of my life" I realize now that without my "Auntie Carolyn" I might not be the person I am. I may have never had the opportunity to develop a place in my heart for nature, animals or the water. I might not appreciate or even know my extended family & most of all I needed that....I needed that as every child needs to get out in the fresh air, I needed the opportunity to run & play. If it weren't for your efforts. I most likely would have never ever moved to Michigan, the state that I now reside in.
I love Michigan, it is my favorite place on this earth, I will always cherish the memories & "Auntie Carolyn" for her all of her efforts. Kudos to you Auntie Carolyn!
You truly are an EXCEPTIONAL WOMAN!
THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO ALL THE "AUNTS & UNCLES" WHO WORKED HARD TO PROVIDE THE COUSINS WITH A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND ESCAPE INTO RURAL PARADISE. THANK YOU! NOW & ALWAYS! ANZIE
This story is also in no way is intended to leave anyone out or hurt anyone's feelings, please note the author has been writing forever & although she would like to continue she has writers cramp!
The author will also probably ever be award anything for spelling or grammar:)
I invite anyone & everyone to post your comments. Please feel free to offer up your point of view!
I hope you enjoyed your time here.
Thanks for following! Peace Out!
