Saying Goodbye To My Aunt

I'm not eloquent with words when it comes to goodbyes. I become a big blubbery mess and my face gets all red and puffy while I stumble on the words trying to come out of my mouth. So forgive my big blubbery mess as I say goodbye to My Aunt today.

My Aunt that used to take me out to some long forgotten creek in the summer, where we would take our shoes off and dangle our feet in the frigid water as we sipped cherry limeades from the route 44s she always bought us.

My Aunt that taught me that family isn't always just the people you share DNA with. Family is also those you bring into your heart. Those that you share your life with can be called family too. It was a completely new concept for me. To bring a stranger into your home, into your life, just because you had enough love to go around and they happen to need love. Love and a place to call home. Two things my aunt taught me to appreciate.

My Aunt that taught me how to be a warrior, a survivor, as she stayed strong even in the toughest of times while she battled cancer for more than a decade. It would show up and she would go through the chemo and the treatments. And the cancer would go away for a while before showing up somewhere else and she would go through it all again.

My Aunt that I will always miss.

My Aunt that I will always love, I say goodbye to you...for now.