Time and time again we are all reminded about how important it is to tell those we love and who've been influential in lives just how much they mean to us because life is too short. This couldn't be more true. This past Friday, August 2, 2019 we lost the more beautiful soul as my Aunt Shelly was called home. Six years ago I partook in SoulPancake's experiment in gratitude by writing and sharing the those sentiments with someone who had been really influential in my life - my aunt. Below are the words I had the privilege of being able to share with my aunt at the time so she would know just how special she was to all of us. While I don't know a world without her and miss her already, I know she's up in heaven singing with the angels, cooking up a storm, and amplifying the love. Rest in peace Aunt Shelly. Thank you for all of your love and for living your life authentically and on your terms. Your life and legacy is a gift to us all.
Often
when asked to write about someone who has influenced me, I write about my
mother or speak about my parents’ impact on who I am. However, when
I think about those individuals who have truly shaped the person I am today, I
have to also think about my mom’s sister, my Aunt Shelly. My aunt is
one of the most amazing, generous, strong people I know. What makes
her amazing has nothing to do with a resume list of accomplishments. What
makes Aunt Shelly amazing is her heart. She is ridiculously generous
in every aspect of her life.
Growing
up as a Foreign Service kid meant that after every country I lived in a sibling
left to attend boarding high school in the States. So while I left the States at six
years old, I returned to the States at 13 years old and was the third Anyaso
sibling to do so. My aunt served as each of our guardians and
actually she was more than a "guardian", she was our second mother. She
did the move ins, move outs, took us on weekends, took us during every major
school break, brought me to the hospital for my hernia surgery when I was 15
years old, and came to our schools anytime the school called, which was a lot
for my older brother who kept making poor decisions while at boarding school. My
favorite memories from high school have to do with the time I spent with aunt
and the random, fun stuff we did. I also think about how my aunt, a
single mother not only took care of her sister’s three children, but also
served as the caretaker for my grandfather who was bedridden due to two strokes
and a cousin who was bedridden due to Multiple Sclerosis. Aunt
Shelly also took care of my grandmother before she passed away, took in my older
cousin when they decided to move from New York to Baltimore and for a few weeks
every summer she also had my younger brother who was back in the States for
summer vacation. There was one summer when there were nine of us
living in a very modest home and had the best time together.
Even
now as my aunt waits on the organ donor list for a kidney, her spirits are
high, love overflowing, and she is still the best cook around. I
don’t think any of us have told her thank you enough or told her just how much
she has influenced who we are. Often people are asked "what
does success look like". For me, success looks like my Aunt
Shelly – an amazing, generous, and kind woman who loves her family and who
makes the lives of everyone around her better - and I truly hope that I can be
half the woman that she is.
