Maryann Anderson

A while ago, my boss and I were driving to a city, that is about a half an hour away, for a case we were working on. I was telling him about a funny conversation that I had with his wife. After I finished he chuckled and said, "Yeah....Connie is the sunshine of our family." I thought it was so sweet, so it hovered around in my mind without any connection other than to that conversation.  Then this summer we had one of our crazy Anderson Family Reunions, in the mountains of Northern Utah. You know the kind... where you have anxiety about all the questions you will be asked, and anxiety about the fact that you don't know if you can be yourself because it takes a while to get comfortable with these people who are your blood and you have known them all your life, yet you do not know them at all. Whew! Yeah that kind. Well...my sister-in-law, sister, and I  rolled into the camp late on the first night, of the reunion, after an adventure: getting lost and ending up on the Wyoming border, due to Siri's impeccable directions, nearly running out of gas, then navigating the winding mountains of Northern Utah the good ol' fashion way, a map. All the while the anxiety creeps in. Needless to say, we were stressed and ready for a place to sleep, so we hightailed it to bed without much interaction with anyone. When we woke the next morning though, as we walked down the path to the common area for breakfast we saw "the sunshine of our family," Maryann! I remember how my mind connected my previous conversation with that moment. It may have been the sunlight, somehow I feel closer to the sunshine in the mountains, but I say that it was just our sweet Maryann... She smiled, her ear to ear face splitting grin, and gave us each a huge, don't want to let go, hug. Immediately I felt comforted; surrounded in warmth.

I cannot remember a time when Maryann did not greet me in exactly the same way no matter what she was doing when we walked in she would run to us with her enormous grin and embrace us like tomorrow would not come. She is amazing at making EVERYONE feel warmth. Because of this, I thought about how others see her. I came up with a few descriptive words: bubbly, fun, life of the party, positive, and never sad. I see her as those things too, but for me she has a much greater depth.

Maryann's smile comes from within. There is a quote I love, shown here, by Elizabeth Kubler Ros. So often, I think we see people that are bubbly and fun and full of life, and we assume they have not "been through something." I know that this is NOT true with Maryann. It is in spite of her trials that she takes this positive approach to life and can smile from within, from a place of "compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern." When she talks to me I can tell she is genuinely interested in what I am saying, and she has this way of getting me to tell her thoughts and feelings that I would not normally share. It may be because she is always looking for the good in people, so I feel free to be myself because no matter who that is, it is someone she will love and encourage always because once she loves you, she is loyal. What a comfort for anyone close to her. You can always be your authentic self without the awkwardness that sometimes comes with being yourself even if being authentic is not in line with who they think you are or want you to be.

Not only will Maryann always look for the good in you she will also brag about you to the nth degree. I think bragging is to be expected when it comes to your children, but she always lets you know that she has been listening or thinks you are amazing because she will brag you up. I love listening to her talk about her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins (i.e. me). Then turning to the person next to you and tell them something she thinks is awesome and phenomenal about you; bragging about an idea you had, or how you overcame a challenge, or telling them about the interesting job you have (even though you may not think it is interesting, she will find a way to make it sound so awesome that you are excited to go back to work.)

Maryann, thank you for being the "sunshine of our family." Thank you for being an example to me of someone that can be real, but is also an optimist. Thank you for always excepting me for who I am and encouraging me to be honest and positive. I am grateful for your compassion and love. I am grateful for your example of an authentic positive woman. I love you.