My heart goes out to my dear friend Brenda, who lost her mother to cancer on Tuesday morning. Brenda's mom, Pauli Nute, was a very special woman. Bren and I have been friends since fifth grade, which means that in many ways Pauli was like a second mom to me. I have so many great memories of times spent at the Nute's and most of them include Paulie. She was such a gracious host. As a painfully shy young girl, I always felt at home in the Nute's house. Mostly because Paulie and Don always went out of their way to make their guests feel comfortable.If idle hands truly are the "devil's playground", then Paulie is already in heaven. She was always busy doing something, whether it be cooking (her Chicken and Dumplings could rival any chef's), crochet (I still cherish the afgan she made Katie), or beautiful needle work.
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Christmas at the Nute home was an amazing affair. The house was always decorated to the nines and looked like something out of a magazine. Everybody came to the Nute's open house. As a kid, I could not get over how many people could fit in the house at a Nute holiday gathering. It was a home teeming with merriment. I remember the first year I attended, I was shocked when Paulie and Don gathered everyone around the fireplace and presented us all with gifts. It was obvious that Pauli took great pleasure in the holiday giving of gifts. I was most surprised when she even presented a gift to me, a fifth-grade friend of their daughter's. Indeed, Paulie was a gracious host.
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One of my fondest memories is traveling in February of 1993, with Brenda, to visit her folks in Barefoot Bay, FL. I had a wonderfully relaxing visit with Don and Pauli. If memory serves, Brenda even bravely rescued a pelican from a certain, painful death. She must have gotten a good portion of her generous heart through her mom's well-set example.
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Rest in Paulie; you are loved.
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