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Even seeing her name makes my eyes burn. My aunt died the first Monday of March, at the age of 51. I'll be honest, I never thought I would lose her this soon, and every time I think of how she was here at the beginning of the year, fine and everything, it's like a fresh stab to my heart. But really, I just wanted to talk about her for a minute.

She was scary. In a you know, 'don't you sass me' kind of way. I remember when she combed my hair once when we visited her in Dallas. I was so scared, I stayed perfectly still. She was probably the first person I ever heard use the f word. She threw money around, which was strange and fantastic to us kids. But still. She wasn't my favorite aunt.

Aunt Mary had lived in California for a while, and had picked up what I can only think of as a surfer dude accent. If she said 'Tubular,' it would sound natural coming from her lips. She met at least one celebrity before moving back to Texas.

She had a very beautiful face, and she could've sung if she wanted to. I can still remember her singing 'I shot the Sheriff' to my then baby cousin, swinging him back and forth in the dining room. The funniest thing I heard after she had died, was that she was popping it(dancing) even two weeks before she gave birth.

She was very saucy, and as my mother had married into the family young, they had known each other for years, and had a funny relationship. I remember they fought over a switch, and it ended with her sitting on my mother. I kept my distance from her for the most part, but after she moved down here, she would come by and watch movies with us. I can still remember watching Mulan for the first time with them in the dining room. They were partly the reason everyone started coming over and making a real get-together out of the tradition of going to my grandmother's house every Sunday or holiday.

Even after my grandmother passed away and we didn't meet up at that house anymore, there were still movie nights. She worked with the school district, and rode the buses with the disabled kids. She was getting bigger, and was relying on fast food more, as things with her husband were becoming rough.

The first time we evacuated for a hurricane, we all went together. The second and third time, we did the same. She was willing to follow us, her and her two sons. We had fun, even in the situation we were in. When we went to stay in Louisiana with kin folk, that was crazy. Cousin Mary Esther and Aunt Mary, they always had me laughing. Whatever Aunt Mary said, Mary Esther would contradict her. Mary Esther, was the only reason I went to go see her body in the hospital.

I'm not done with this, but I have to stop for now.

6/23
I just have to mention this. Last year, I had no plans for my birthday and was relatively unexcited. She asked me what I liked. I told her quesadillas. She had my older sister and I come over, where we watched movies, played video games, and made quesadillas. She made sure I did something for my birthday, something I will always look back on and marvel at.