An Auntie Appreciation
Over the weekend, I lost an aunt, someone I’ve been close to over the years, if not as much recently. I remember how cool she seemed when I was young, and how much I appreciated her sense of style until the very end. We looked strikingly similar, and more so as I got older. When I’m visiting Belize, people often say I look familiar and I know they’re confusing me with my aunt.
We all have this aunt in our life, the one who’s often more accessible and accepting than our mothers, who teaches us earlier and in more detail than our parents are ready to.
Aunties are perfection. There for you when you need them, free of parental expectations. There to answer the questions that parents aren’t quite comfortable answering. There to offer the unconditional love that immigrant parents don’t quite seem to know how to give.
That’s who this aunt was to me. It’s also the aunt I am to some of my nieces, the ones who get me in small segments rather than the daily dose to which my child is subjected. She’s the only aunt I had like that, and I’m sorry I never get to say this to her. So, hug your aunt today. And be that aunt that so many No. 1 Immigrant Daughters need.
Sayu