Dear Aunt Robin,
You are by far the hardest goodbye, unexpected and unprepared for. I don’t know if I can adequately describe what I’m feeling, but I’ll try.
I just want to thank you. I don’t know if I’ve ever properly said thank you, and I’m sorry it’s come now, but part of the reason this hurts so much is because of how thankful I am for all you were for me. Thank you for being there when my world was crashing down. Thank you for taking me in and becoming a mother to me for a short season. Thank you for telling me that I’ll be fine, to just brush it off and keep going. Thank you for making me feel like a princess when I didn’t feel wanted. Thank you for pushing me to be the best I can be. Thank you for making me feel pretty when I had that awful pixie cut. Thank you for lifting me up in prayer. Thank you for the laughs and the fun. Thank you for the 8th grade formal dress, and making the fact that I was going with a boy a big deal. Thank you for coming to every dance recital and cheering me on. Thank you for the countless lessons. Thank you for being invested in my life even after our families drifted apart. Thank you for being the realest aunt, regardless of blood relations or legal status.
Most of all, thank you for being you. Thank you for being a light, though I wish you had a little longer to shine. I’m a strong person who can handle the hardships of life in part because of you. In my heart, you’ll still be kicking butt and taking names with your Birkenstocks and coffee mug in hand. I wish I could hug your neck one last time, tell you how much I’m going to miss you, and above all, tell you how much I love you.
Today is your memorial service, and though I wish I could be there in person, I’m sitting in an Ecuadorian hostel thanking God for your life, and the pain that’s finally lifted from your bones. Heaven’s gonna love you.
Until I see you again in eternity,
Love, Syd
