Mom-mom Brandt

My Mom-mom (on the left) with her sister, Betty. I actually took this picture! :P

Dottie Doyle from South Philly... LOL!! She is full of life and somehow managed to raised 4 daughters that are close as.... molecules?.... When I say my mom and aunts are tight, I mean all but one live in the same town. And that one travels an hour to help out and come to family events. Alright... back to my grandmother. She's well... from South Philly and if she meets someone who is as well, you might as well take a seat because she will talk to that person for hours! :P She's all Irish to the core, except for the drinking part and only because alcohol gives her heartburn. She has taught my mom and, in turn, me the not so subtle art of nagging. :P Always concerned about her husband's well being, we often heard in the course of the day "BOB!! are you alright?" This is something I've learned from her as well. For example, one night I woke up at around 4 am and I couldn't tell if my husband was breathing (usually I can just hear it) so I did what any rational adult would do... I shook him... hard :P He was none too happy, but atleast I knew he was still alive. LOL! I have since learned to gently touch his back to feel him breathing. Just one of the signs that I'm crazy.


I was closer to her than Little Helen mostly because her house (for most of my life) was just a 5 minute walk away. I spent many summers by the pool at her house and with my aunts so close, every Saturday and Sunday during the summer was a family event. I told you my aunts were tight. There's an uncle in there too, he just wasn't around almost everyday of my life like my aunts were.


She's full of life with a great sense of humor. She gets enjoyment out of the simplest things (ie a good hair cut and color). It was nothing short of a miracle that she raised four girls who all got along with each other. I'm sure it wasn't all sugarplums and daisies, but from what I can tell, they always got along. She, my mother and my aunts were the biggest influence on me growing up. I didn't need any celebrity role models. I had these 5 constant sources in my life showing me how to be a strong, independent woman.