T.K.

My mom called on Monday morning to let us know that my great Aunt Kathy had passed away peacefully on Sunday night. She was my mom's aunt & almost like another grandparent, especially as she had no children or grandchildren of her own. Because Alan's sister is also "Aunt Kathy", our family called my great aunt, "Tante Kathy" (aunt in German) or T.K., to avoid confusion.
Growing up, we usually had Sunday supper at Aunt Kathy & Uncle Hal's. They were both creative people, wonderfully imaginative & funny. Uncle Hal was Kathy's senior by 20 years & he died in 1994. Sunday supper was always soup, followed by dessert & tea. Kathryn (who is named after T.K.) & I always got our own little teapots, even when we were so young that we were drinking our mostly-milk-tea out of sippy cups. We each have those little tea pots now & I even have my yellow sippy cup from their kitchen cupboard. I know my mom has photos from Sunday supper--we'll have to dig them out. T.K. always fostered our love of dolls & miniatures, as this was something she loved her whole life. She helped Kathryn & me buy our American Girl Dolls when we were little, & both she & Hal contributed to our Sylvanian miniatures. I remember when one of us was celebrating a birthday, the other would get a little "half-birthday" present, as our birthdays are six months apart.
Here she is at her 80th birthday party in 2005.

And her amazing dollhouse.

I love this photo of Grandma Donnie, Mom, & T.K. from 2006.

After getting off the phone with mom, I got on my bike & rode to my Wallingford office for the first time. I was thankful to be out riding after hearing the news. The sun was shining, illuminating the bright green moss along the side of the trail. The lake was calm, with just a hint of wind in my face. I rode along the Burke-Gilman, up through Ravenna towards Greenlake, then up the big hill to Keystone, thinking the while about my Tante Kathy & the other elders we have recently lost.