Who were some of you favorite relatives and what made them special?

For some reason my Aunt Norma Allen and I have had a special relationship from the time I was born.  It isn't really Aunt and niece but more sisterly.  She has been my big sister my whole life.  Aunt Norma has been my go-to person when I needed a shoulder to cry on forever.  My first memory of Norma is lying on the linoleum with her as we were trying to stay cool in an un-air conditioned house in August in Texas.  I was supposed to be taking a nap but Aunt Norma and I were talking.  I remember Mom had the fan blowing on her and it was just before Marianne was born.  A very annoying habit I had was to wake Aunt Norma up - I would lift her eyelid up and say, "Aunt Norma - are you in there?"  She never seemed to mind.  When I did that once to my mother, I got spanked with a wooden spoon.  You did NOT wake up Mom when she sleeping!  It is funny because to this day, I call Aunt Norma up to vent.  I also call her to just to visit - so hopefully I don't come off as the whiny - needy niece!  We see each other and pick up where we left off.

Sarah Anne Nielson Tuttle and Lloyd Tuttle were also very special to me.  I loved going to visit them.  Grandpa Tuttle always took us up in the mountains for cookouts and on jeep rides.  He was extremely patient and everything a grandpa should be.  Grandma was also incredibly wonderful.  She became Omi when my children were little because suddenly there were so many grandmas in the room!  We had to differentiate somehow.  She loved her name and loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Even her stepchildren and step-grandchildren were loved as dearly as her own flesh and blood.  She is the one that taught me that often we are related only by love.

I was also close to my Grandpa George Brugger.  Grandpa was a man that loved to work and serve others.  He was the epitome of a strong priesthood holder and someone that my own father emulates.  Grandpa was a little more patient than my dad though.  I don't know if that was something he learned or it just came with him.  Men are not usually compassionate.  There are some but it is not a normal characteristic of a male.  My Grandpa Brugger was truly compassionate and full of Christlike love.