Toasts | dedication to Auntie Wynnie

This post is dedicated to 九姑媽, my Auntie Wynnie. I've mentioned her before in my introductory "About Me" post as the woman who knew I was a foodie before I did! I'd like to thank her for always being there for me, for always encouraging me to believe in myself and to pursue what means the most to me, and for showing me the meaning behind Bennett Cerf's wise words:

“A person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.”

Me and Auntie Wynnie at my graduation party, May 2009.

She lived a fulfilling, happy, and enjoyable life. She loved to ski, golf, laugh, and tell stories -- she always lit up a room and was always excited to see you. There were never any awkward silences with her because the minute any came around, she'd make a joke or check what was new with you. She was so full of life and had the biggest appetite for a gigantic bowl of ice cream.

It has been a year since I had to say goodbye to her. I miss her very much, and I'm thinking of her always. She always used to tease me about how I love food so much and that my stomach is always yearning for me. She wasn't totally off--food is always on my mind, and I wish she had been able to read about the adventures I started publicly sharing in the blogosphere.

I read this last year at her memorial service, and I feel like it would make for a nice closing touch to this dedication. It's a poem entitled "i carry your heart with me" written by ee cummings. So here's to you, Auntie Wynnie, whose heart I'll carry with me always, whose love gave me the courage to get through so many hardships, whose kindness always showed that family didn't end at the bloodline. I see your spirit every day when I hear someone laughing and smiling. We all miss you very much.

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)