To Aunt T, With Love

 

Dear Aunt T,

 

Right now, you're somewhere between North Carolina and Arkansas, making your way back to the west coast.  The house felt different without you here this morning. A little more chaotic for certain, as I juggled getting all three of us ready and out the door. We miss you already. I talked to Tennyson again and told her you had to go bye bye, but we would see you again soon. I know she will be sad when she gets home from school and you aren't here.

 

There a handful of people that I can truly trust with my girls. You are one of them. Aside from your brother, you are the closest anyone has come to being completely interchangeable with me. I am forever grateful you re-arranged your life to come and help us. Nothing you helped me with went unnoticed.

 

Thank you for getting Tennyson out of bed each morning when she was in her full leg casts. Thank you for helping me change her bandages and diapers. Thank you for going to her countless doctor and therapy appointments with me. Thank you for holding her hand as she had her casts removed. Thank you for always finding a way to get Kipper the Dog to play on your phone when she had lost her patience.

 

 

 

Thank you for learning how to work her chair, stander, leg and foot braces, and feeding pump. Thank you for picking her up from school when I needed you to. Thank you for watching her so that I could run errands or grocery shop. Thank you for watching her when I had doctors appointments. Thank you for making sure she had all her medicines and feedings when I was in the hospital when Harlynn was born. Thank you for the thousands of diapers you changed. Thank you for giving Tenn a bath every night at 6:30pm (and making it fun by rapping Justin Bieber to her).

 

 

 

 

More importantly though, thank you for loving my girls. Thank you for simply holding them and giving them attention. Thank you for playing your guitar to Tenn and letting her try to play with you. Thank you for taking her on walks. Thank you for taking her running with you. Thank you for spending your time with her. Thank you for taking the cutest pictures of her. Thank you for making her smile.

 

 

Thank you for spending Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and Easter with us. Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me. Thank you for giving me flowers on Mother's Day.

 

Thank you for getting up each morning to sit with Harlynn while I took Tenn to school. Having another adult to have dinner with and watch T.V. with and laugh with made each day go by easier. Thank you for sharing the weight of a deployment with me. You not only made this deployment manageable, you allowed me to be a happy Mom to my kids.

 

 

Every child deserves to have an Aunt like you. And every woman deserves a sister-in-law like you.

 

We love you. Drive safely.