1.) She has loved me unconditionally for my entire life. Whenever my parents needed a babysitter for me and for my brother, she was there. When I was old enough to drive myself, her house became my very favorite place to be, because she was there and just being around her made you feel better, made whatever problem you were carrying less heavy.
2.) Whenever you call her on the phone, no matter what day, no matter what time, she always answers. She is always there when you need her.
3.) She reads books faster than me and shares them with me and anyone else who loves to read. She packs them up in a plastic bag and sets them in a corner or on the porch for whoever is ready for them. We have swapped books this way for years.
4.) She loves a good breakfast with crispy bacon, creamy grits, and sawmill gravy. On Tuesday mornings you can find her at IHOP with Aunt Sara.
5.) She taught me that your worth is not in what you have, or what your career is, but who you are as a person and how you treat people.
6.) When Aunt Mott tells a story, you feel like you are right there with her. You know the punchline is coming because her stories are always funny and the anticipation builds until you are laughing and crying all at the same time.
7.) She taught me that when you love someone, you love them forever, even when it is hard, and even when you don’t feel like it, because how you love someone shows more about your heart and character than it does about the person you love. She and Uncle Tommy have been together for as long as I can remember. They’ve been through some tough times but they have always been through them with each other.
8.) She is always thinking of you, even when you are not around. She buys little things just for you when she is out at Big Lots or from the Barnyard and puts them up for you so when you come by to see her she has a little something for you.
9.) Whenever you come to see Mott, she always has a glass of sweet tea waiting on you and a little something sweet. It might be a Little Debbie cake or a piece of sweet potato pie and while you know she might not have known you were coming, she makes you feel like she was expecting you and couldn’t wait for you to come by.
10.) In our Johnson family she is the one who keeps in touch with everyone and checks in on us and makes sure we know how everybody is doing. We always call Aunt Mott first and she is the pulse of our family.
11.) She is a wonderful sister to her brothers and sisters. I loved growing up hearing the stories of how Aunt Mott, who was the last girl born amongst several boys, and how she was as tough as they were and many times we learned, she was tougher!
12.) At Thanksgiving Aunt Mott makes the very best sweet potato pies. She makes several of them for her family’s Thanksgiving Day dinner, and over the years if you are lucky enough to be around when she is making one, you will remember the creamy texture, the crunchy crust, and the sweet filling for a long time after your last bite.
13.) Aunt Mott is hilarious! Not only can she tell the funniest jokes, but she does some pretty hilarious things. For example, when she was a little girl she got tired of her Papa Wright being mean and ornery to her and always ordering her around so when he asked her to make him a roast beef sandwich, she got a couple of pieces of brown cardboard and slathered mayonnaise on some bread and piled it up with lettuce and tomatoes and served it to him on a plate with a big cat-eating grin. He took a giant bite of that sandwich and then couldn’t chew up the cardboard meat and started hollering and raising cane. She ran with her laughter following her and over the years our laughter has joined in with hers.
14.) Aunt Mott is fast at figuring out new things. Whether it is the new computer system when she worked down at North Hills or a new kitchen gadget, she can spend just a little bit of time on it and can figure it out without anyone ever having to show her how or pull out an instruction manual.
15.) She taught me to love classic tv shows. From The Andy Griffith Show to I Love Lucy and Little House on the Prairie I grew up falling in love with Mayberry, Ethel, and Michael Landon sitting cross legged in the front of her television set all throughout the 80’s.
16.) Aunt Mott taught me how to bargain shop at the flea markets and at blue light specials at Kmart and Big Lots. Over the years we have gotten a lot of joy over a good deal!
17.) When Aunt Mott discovers something great like the Southern Mills Peppered Gravy mix at Ingles she doesn’t keep it to herself, she will joyfully share it with you. Most of the time, she won’t just tell you about it, she will buy you one so you can enjoy it too.
18.) Mott taught me how to doctor up everyday food to make it taste better. For example a regular strawberry Pop Tart right out of the box is okay, but if you put it in the toaster oven and get it warm and then add some butter to the top right after it pops out so it is soft and melted, makes it a whole lot better!
19.) Aunt Mott can get a tan quicker than anyone else I know…except maybe Uncle Tommy. As soon as the winter weather turns to spring, you can find her in a pair of shorts and flip flops sitting out on the back porch getting a little sun. In no time she has a golden tan and hasn’t left the yard.
20.) She has a soft spot for animals and a stray cat always knows it has a safe spot on her porch. While she may not claim it, she allows it to claim her and will make sure to check on it and talk to it and leave it some food and a saucer of milk. People and animals alike have a way of taking up with her.
21.) Aunt Mott is absolutely beautiful! She always has been and she always will be. When I was a little girl I used to love staying at her house and watching her do her beauty routine. She keeps it simple, but she keeps it up. She always uses a good moisturizer and a little make up. Not too much because too much make up makes you look cheap she always told me. Just enough to touch you up and have you ready for the day. Most of all, she always wears a smile on her face and a laugh on her lips. Those are her best features to me! And her awesome hair!
22.) Speaking of hair…I have always loved Aunt Mott’s hair. I have never seen her without her hair fixed. Even when she is cleaning house and even when we were at the beach together, she always wakes up and fixes her hair. She doesn’t do much to it, but she doesn’t have to. She has always had great hair texture and when I was little and would stay with her I would love how after we would run to the store, before we would get out of the car, she would run a pick through her hair to fluff out her bangs and to make sure the back was fixed.
23.) Mott taught me to be good to your neighbors and to take care of them and they will do the same for you. Over the years she looked after Elsie and Lyla Davis, Lois and Bootie Reid, and Sharon and Ray Moore in Pelham and her neighbors in Reidville have also become her friends.
24.) Aunt Mott taught me how to truly visit with people when they come by to see you. She is an excellent listener and can add to any topic of conversation. She knows when to make you laugh, she knows when to let you cry, and she always knows when you need a little tasty treat to make you feel better. You always leave feeling better than when you came.
25.) She loves a good country music song and has an ear for remembering the lyrics and being able to sing it back to you. I grew up loving listening to her sing Jeannie C. Riley’s “Parker Valley PTA” and she loved listening to me sing Reba McIntyre’s “Fancy.”
26.) Mott taught me how to keep up a house. Every day no matter how she felt or what the weather was like, or what she had planned she always started her morning with the same house keeping routine. She would take her shower and wrap her hair up and then run the vacuum through the living room, dust the coffee table and end tables, straighten up and pick up anything left out from the night before. She would make a fresh gallon of tea and put it in the fridge to cool. Once she got ready she would sweep off the front porch and open the front door where the storm glass door would let the light in. She taught me that you always want to have your house picked up and presentable so when company comes you can enjoy them and you are ready for the day. I’ve never forgotten that and her routine has become mine.
27.) Aunt Mott has the prettiest blue eyes. They are the same Johnson blue as her daddy and her sisters and brothers. They can be soft and sparkling and they can also be sharp and piercing depending on what she is telling you and what she needs you to hear. No matter the message, they always show you her heart and that she loves you.
28.) She is the best gift giver. Over the years she has given me gifts that she knew I would love but wouldn’t buy for myself. There was a board game called “Hero Quest” that Shawn and I wanted when we were ten years old. It was expensive but she got it for us for our birthday and we have it to this day. When I first started driving, she and Uncle Tommy bought me a waterproof Jeep radio. I loved it so much I took it with me to my first classroom and it was our recess radio.
29.) Aunt Mott always believed in the concept of “The More, The Merrier.” She never intentionally left anyone out. If I came by and she was planning a trip to Lake Russell with Aunt Mary and Kristy then she automatically invited me too. If she was getting ready to cook supper and you happened to be there, well she just put out another plate for you and you were invited too.
30.) Aunt Mott’s generosity has always made her house big enough, her table long enough, and her pocket full enough for whoever came by and whatever they needed. At first I thought it was just me who could stay on the couch when I was sick from school or who got a $20 bill when I needed it, but I found out from my cousins that she did that for all of us. She’s always been there when we needed her. I hope she knows we will be here for her when she needs us.
31.) Aunt Mott has always loved our family, not just her own brothers and sisters and their children, but all of our cousins and their children as well. She calls Helen and Evelyn from Chesnee on Grandpa’s side every week and checks in on Stella Ann on Grandma’s side and keeps up with them so we can keep up with them too. She has always taught me that family is your most important treasure.
32.) At family gatherings, Aunt Mott rarely fixes her a plate to eat or sits down at any one table for too long. In her heart the most important part of these events is being able to spend time with those you love that you don’t see very often. So she makes sure to not just speak to everyone, but to listen and to truly visit. I’ve learned that from her over the years.
33.) On Christmas Eve I loved coming by Aunt Mott’s house along with all of her children and grandchildren and a few neighbors as well to see everyone open their gifts, to hear her laugh, and to celebrate the best gifts that had nothing to do with wrapping paper or boxes or bows and everything to do with family.
34.) In the summer, the best place to be was Aunt Mott’s front porch in Pelham. Every porch chair and swing would be full of family, friends, and neighbors holding red Dixie cups full of iced tea, laps full of babies, and the lights off of cigarettes and lightning bugs flickering across the yard at twilight.
35.) Aunt Mott taught me to use the talents you have to help others whenever you can. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come by and she was helping someone figure out some paperwork for insurance or for their job, taking care of someone’s children for a little while so they could run an errand, or having Uncle Tommy take a look at whatever was wrong with their car. You always knew that if she could help you, she would.
36.) I loved how Aunt Mott taught me how to whistle when I was little. I wanted so bad to whistle like the seven dwarfs on Snow White and like the Andy Griffith theme song, but I couldn’t ever figure out. She spent a few hours on her front porch swing with me patiently teaching me how to get my lips just right and how to blow air through them just right to make a whistle.
37.) Aunt Mott taught me how to make the best deviled egg sandwiches in the world. She uses fresh, soft white bread and boils the eggs for ten minutes and only uses Duke mayonnaise. When we would go to Lake Russell as a big family she would add giant slices of garden grown red tomatoes and lettuce and cover it generously with salt and pepper and it would be the best summer snack you’ve ever had.
38.) Aunt Mott will always shoot straight with you. If you ask her a question about something, she will give you her honest opinion, even if it isn’t something you were expecting or agreed with. I have always valued this about her and know that she will tell me the truth.
39.) Mott is a good dancer and will cut a rug when the mood strikes. I remember laughing watching her teach my daddy how to do “The Bump” years ago in her living room.
40.) Aunt Mott taught me to never hold a grudge against your family. Throughout the years she told me that no matter what, family is forever. In spite of hurts and harsh words, she forgives and seeks forgiveness and has taught me that time and the good Lord will heal the heart’s wounds and will allow your family to keep going.
41.) Aunt Mott has never been afraid to be herself. She taught me that as a woman you can be smart and beautiful, strong and kind hearted, brave and funny, loyal and even a little sassy. She has always been true to herself and taught me to do the same.
42.) Aunt Mott has taught me to stand up for myself. She taught me that you have to believe in yourself if you expect anyone else to believe in you. Over the years I have learned from her that dignity and self-respect are the two things that no one can give to you but they are also two things that no one can take from you.
43.) She always has the best come backs. Her quick wit gives her the ability to always know just what to say. Whenever I have experienced conflict or trouble I always give her a call and she always knows just what to do or say to make you feel better about things or at least about yourself.
44.) Aunt Mott taught me that there is no better way to spend a late evening then with a cup of strong coffee, a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and the company of those you love the most in the world.
45.) Going to the beach with Aunt Mott in Cherry Grove continues to be one of the very best vacations I have ever had in my life. We filled up a beach house with Marty, Sherry, Joni, their husbands and children, Sharon and Ray and Chris, and Aunt Sara and me and we had the time of our lives. No matter what you wanted to do or where you wanted to go there was always someone with you.
46.) Mott taught me how to use humor to diffuse a stressful situation. When times get tough or people get a little aggravated, she knows just what to say to have you cracking up. Her timing is impeccable and she has this amazing power to change the mood of an entire house or car full of people in a moment.
47.) Aunt Mott also taught me how to make kids laugh. I can’t tell you how much fun I had watching her bounce a grandbaby on her knee and sing songs and rhymes, play patty cake and peek a boo, and make them laugh and everyone else around you too!
48.) Aunt Mott is fiercely protective over her grandchildren. She has six of them and loves them all like she only had one of them. Austin, Lindsey, Maison, Dawson, Noah, and Thomas are her heart.
49.) She loves other people’s children too. Over the years I’ve witnessed her handing out banana popsicles to the neighbor’s children, candy bags to whoever comes up to the porch at Halloween, and hugs and a listening ear to anyone who happens to pop by. Children innately know when they are around someone they can trust and Aunt Mott has always been one of them.
50.) Aunt Mott has read enough Stephen King novels and watched enough crime tv from Perry Mason to Law and Order that she would not only be the one that would help you commit a murder if you needed her to, but she would be the one to help you hide the body.
51.) She raised three of the very best women I know. Her daughters became my cousins and my very best friends in this world. Sherry, Marty, and Joni have been constants in my life and I am thankful for their friendship to me and to my children over the years.
52.) Aunt Mott always taught us girls that you could never have too many friends. She said you make sure that you are kind to others and that you are friendly to everyone. You never know when you will run into them again.
53.) She also taught us to make sure we never left anyone with a broken heart. She taught all of us to make sure that if something or someone didn’t work out, we never left them angry or mad, we left them as friends. I can’t tell you how many relationships may have ended for many of us, but the friendships continued to last over the years. Mott was right about this. She is right about a lot of things!
54.) Aunt Mott treats my kids like they were her own. Whenever I come by she sends me home with Orange Crush sodas for Lily, Hannah, and Eli and moon pies or Debbie Cakes. They know she loves them and is thinking about them and I am so thankful that they get to grow up knowing her and loving her like I do.
55.) Mott taught me that if you are going to do something, to make sure you do it right. Whether it was picking up your house or doing your job a work, she always taught me to do your best and to make sure that there was no fault in your work. I have always been so proud of my Aunt Mott when she went to work at North Hills because everyone bragged on how good she was at her job. How fast she was at finding the records and using the computer.
56.) Aunt Mott taught me how to rhyme when I was just a little girl and we would spend the afternoon singing, “Sherry, berry, bo-berry, banana fanna fo ferry, me mi mo merry, Sherry” with everyone’s name we could think of. This helped me make up silly songs to entertain my own kids later and tunes to teach with when I had a classroom full of fourth graders.
57.) Aunt Mott is not afraid to straighten you out if you need it. Over the years it has been rare that I have needed it, but when I have she has told me like it is and set me straight. The older I get the more I realize how valuable it is to have someone who loves you to tell you what you need to hear.
58.) Aunt Mott has taught me how to be tough and to endure what you just have to get through. Recently she battled horrible kidney stones that required three different surgeries across much of last year. She suffered with the pain before the surgery and ended up waiting over eight hours in the emergency room becoming septic and needing emergency surgery and time in the ICU ward before she could go home and she also suffered after with the pain from having a stint put in after the surgery. Through it all she continued to ask about Tommy and her grandkids and even though the pain hurt her she knew she just had to get through it. I’ve learned from her example that we have to endure what we have to the best we can and thinking about others is one way to help us do that.
59.) Over the years Mott has introduced me to some classic movies….Steel Magnolias, Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman, are all movies I watched with her or with Sherry, Marty, and Joni over the years. Uncle Tommy always had a stocked library of vhs tapes that we could watch when we came over to visit and I loved sprawling out across their living room floor watching some of my favorites over and over again.
60.) Mott taught me how a drive can do you a world a good sometimes. I loved going on a drive with Mott and Tommy to the lake, to Georgia, or to the mountains for the day. The windows down, the radio on, and either a book or some conversation to keep you company is about all you need to have a good time.
61.) I love how Aunt Mott enjoys the simple things in life…a warm sunny day sitting out on the back porch, a visit with a friend on the front porch swing, a drive to the mountains, or a good book. When you are with her, you don’t need much to enjoy the time you have together.
62.) Every Halloween for as long as I can remember, Aunt Mott always makes hot dogs and chili and makes us all special candy bags filled with the good chocolate and candy with our name on it. I thought she did it just for me and Shawn but I found out over the years that she spent hours the days before Halloween filling up candy bags and labeling them for kids all over the neighborhood, all over the family, and extra that she had just in case.
63.) Aunt Mott has always believed in me and my dreams no matter what they were. When I was little I just knew that I was going to Nashville to sing with Dolly and Loretta at the Grand Ole’ Opry. She never once told me I needed talent to do that and instead just let me belt out every song I knew every chance I got. Later when I wanted to be a teacher she listened to me talk about the classes I was taking and the books I was reading and always encouraged me and told me that she knew I could do it.
64.) One of the things I love the most about Aunt Mott is that my friends were always welcome to come with me to her house. My college friends, Rena Jane and Melissa were welcome to come by the house and get in the hot tub. When I met Greg in college, we were able to spend many of our dates at her house on her front porch. Even now I have friends who know all about my Aunt Mott and as soon as they meet her she treats them like they are family too.
65.) When I was little and would get aggravated with my brother, Aunt Mott would always remind me of how lucky I am to have a brother and how much she loves her brothers and would never ever want to hurt them. Whenever I have had a tough time with my mom as moms and daughters are apt to do, my Aunt Mott always listens to me and always reminds me how much my mom loves me. If Greg ever gets on my nerves a little bit which is rare but happens over the course of a marriage, she listens and always reminds me of what a good husband he is and how she knows he loves me.
66.) Aunt Mott has taught me that sometimes it is okay for contests to be “rigged.” I know this sounds shocking but she is right when it comes to family. Years ago at family reunions several of the aunts and uncles would bring door prizes to give out. We would do names on tickets in a hat and if your name was drawn you won the door prize. Usually Aunt Mott would be the door prize caller because she knew everyone. One year she told me to help her and whispered down to me, “Whatever name is on that ticket I want you to call out this one because she could really use this.” I did and sure enough it made that family member’s day. The next one she whispered to me to call out the name of a cousin who hadn’t been able to come to the family reunion in a while. I did and sure enough that cousin came for years after. At our family Christmas gatherings when we would do Christmas exchanges she would always bring a few extra gifts in case someone couldn’t afford to participate she always had one for them.
67.) Aunt Mott taught me the importance of having a front porch swing. When I was a little girl her porch swing was my very favorite place to be. Something about the rhythmic motion of sliding back and forth, your bare feet gliding across the concrete porch, sunlight streaming in underneath the porch roof, is peaceful. When we built our house the first thing I asked for on Mother’s Day was a front porch swing like my Aunt Mott. There isn’t a time I swing on it that I don’t think about her.
68.) When Aunt Mott’s girls married, I watched how Aunt Mott treated their husbands. She didn’t treat John, Roy, and Chad like they were her sons-in-law, she treated them like they were her sons. She loved them just like she did her girls and over the years they each have loved her and Uncle Tommy the same way. There isn’t anything that they wouldn’t do for her. I want to make sure that the future spouses of my children feel the same way and I know it will be up to me and how I treat them for that to happen.
69.) Aunt Mott and Uncle Tommy introduced me to my husband. When I was a teenager she would tell me that she wanted me to meet Pastor Kirt’s son from Pelham church. She said he was a great guy and she really loved his family and thought that we would get along. At the time we went to different high schools and I went to a different church but when Marty married Chad, Greg and I both were in the wedding party and when we met I knew that she was right. We married a few years later and I am thankful that she and Uncle Tommy have always looked out for me.
- I love how every year on my birthday Aunt Mott always calls me and my brother and sings me Happy Birthday. She remembers every year and I have a collection of voice mail messages on my smart phone and those on my old answering machine tapes from college and when we first got married that I have saved over the years. Whenever I am having a bad day or just need a little cheering up, I can press play and hear her voice, the voice of one who knows all about me and chooses to love me anyway, telling me she loves me. I hope today on her 70th birthday she knows how very much she is loved today, and always.
Happy Birthday Aunt Mott! I love you more now than ever!
Thank you for being the best aunt and friend a niece could have!
Love, Dawn
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