Dorothy Larimore Johnson

This is the only portrait I've ever seen of my Grandma Johnson, dated September 13, 1946, which was my father's first birthday. I love the romantic idea that she had a portrait taken to honor that day and show her love. Looking back, I think my Grandparents had a complex relationship. Even today some family members have told me they should not have been married, but Grandpa was not going to leave his son, as his father had done to him. Maybe they weren't the perfect match, but I think they are an example of how love is a choice. Marriage is work and you grow in love. The head in the clouds feelings disappear, but as you grow in love, the feelings are deeper and richer with the patina of time.

This picture always makes me chuckle. It has been repaired in photoshop elements, but in the original there is a tear the entired length of the left hand side. Grandma "fixed" it with old fashioned Scotch tape that yellowed and aged. Apparently at some point in time she and Grandpa had an argument and in her temper (it was quick and hot!) she picked up the picture and tore it! I know it was just a gesture because she only tore it on the left hand side, not through her face, so the picture was "saved".

Grandma was quite a character and my first best friend. Her life ended in a long battle with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. You can read my tribute to her battle here on my old blog.

Dorothy Lucille Larimore Johnson January 2, 1920 to July 16, 1987.

Forget-Me-Nots On Thankful Thursday

Daniel "Danny" Albin Johnson (1967-1973) and Dorothy "Dot" Larimore Johnson (1920-1987) photo taken December 1969.


One of the projects I am looking forward to working on in the coming year, with my newly acquired digital scrapbooking skills, is a book honoring my little brother Danny. He was a delightful little soul with a smile and twinkling eyes that warmed any room.

The hardest part of losing someone young is that eventually your whole life goes on without them and the portion of your life that you shared with them becomes incredibly small. Just as skyscrapers seem impossibly small in the distance, someone who was once a HUGE part of your life seems nearly completely gone. I loathe this process, at the same time my rational brain knows that it is "normal". Somewhere along the line, I promised myself I would NOT forget him. I want my Hubby and children to know who he was so that they too will rejoice in our Heavenly reunion.

Forget-Me-Nots are precious to me, because they remind me of the times that Danny and I picked blue, white and pink forget-me-nots in my Grandma Hopkins' garden. They remind me to remember. Twice yearly, on Danny's birthday and death date, these little posts are my forget-me-nots. They are not to wallow or dwell on my grief. They are tributes to remember. Yes, I do still carry some sadness because losing someone you love is not something you "get over".

So here is my Thankful Thursday list:

1. I am thankful for my brother Danny and the joy we packed into a short period of time.

2. I am thankful for photographs to cherish when the visual memories otherwise fade.

3. I am thankful for my children once again, who just passed the exact ages my brother and I were at the time of his death. I delight to hear them wake up each and every morning, even on days like today when they wake up with, "Daddy! I wet the bed!" LOL

4. I am thankful for our gentle dental hygienist Melissa who gave Boogie another positive dental experience today.

5. I am thankful for my SIL, also on her own journey of grief after losing a child, who willingly drove an hour to watch the girls while I took Boogie to the dentist.

6. I am thankful for having learned how to make bread this past year because my family loves it!

7. I am thankful for blogging, which has helped me in both my grieving and personal journeys.



Go HUG someone you LOVE!!! None of us know how long or short of time we have. LIVE every minute. Like Steven Curtis Chapman sings... la, la, la, la, la, la, LIVE OUT LOUD!



I'll leave you now with one of my favorite Amy Grant songs...


Up in the attic,
Down on my knees.
Lifetimes of boxes,
Timeless to me.
Letters and photographs,
Yellowed with years,
Some bringing laughter,
Some bringing tears.



Time never changes,
The memories, the faces
Of loved ones, who bring to me,
All that I come from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I'm going to be.
My precious family
Is more than an heirloom to me.



Wise men and shepherds,
Down on their knees,
Bringing their treasures
To lay at his feet.
Who was this wonder,
Baby yet king?
Living and dying;
He gave life to me.



Time never changes,
The memory, the moment
His love first pierced through me,
Telling all that I came from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I'm going to be.
My precious savior
Is more than an heirloom to me.
My precious Jesus
Is more than an heirloom to me.