My Aunt Nancy used to say, “Life is like a patchwork quilt.” Life goes on, full of unexpected twists and turns as we create our life each day. Her life was filled with different patches forged from the love and memories she created stitch by stitch. Aunt Nancy was a woman who could ignite a flame of belief within the darkest of us, inspire hope in the hopeless, and teach love to the people who needed it most. However, one of the things I will remember most of all is her persistence, how she never gave up on someone at their worst; even when everyone else would or lost faith in themselves.
My Aunt Nancy never loved us for who she wanted us to be or who she hoped we would become. She always loved us for exactly who we were and saw the best of who we could be long before we saw it in ourselves. I loved that so much about her. No judgment, no conditions, just love. We were always loved and good enough when Aunt Nancy was around. If you needed a pick-me-up or a shoulder to cry on, she was always there without hesitation. She had a gift of always knowing what advice to say when we needed to hear it the most. When I felt lost, she always helped me find myself and my way. I always felt no matter what would happen in my crazy life, at least I had her to keep my head on straight. “The keeper of my sanity” I once called her. How she could endure hours of my teenage or young adult tormented rants I will never know. But her patience, love, and persistence are traits I have always remembered and inspired in me a desire to help others just as she helped me. I once asked her how she endured so many late-night calls or teenage venting to which she replied chuckling, “Well, it wasn’t always easy, but I always believed in you.” Those words still echo in my mind. How she could see things in others was one of her many gifts. Her inspiration and insight into life have been my anchor for many years. I often felt her love was like a lighthouse keeping us safe even at a distance and always there when you needed her.
In her life, she has left a trail of people she has inspired and touched in her wake. She lived every day for others. Trying to bring light and hope into people’s lives was more than a job for her, it was part of who she was naturally. Whenever I felt sad or something tragic would happen, she would listen, let me cry and then share one of her favorite quotes with me. She shared it so many times I created a sketch of it on my wall two years ago to remember, and if she were here now watching me feel sad at her parting, I can almost hear her say these words by 17th-century author John Dryden, “I am sore wounded but not slain. I will lay me down and bleed a while, and then rise up to fight again.”
Aunt Nancy remains a pillar of strength and support despite her parting. Her influence is not stopped by death but thrives in the lives of those who were lucky enough to know her. Her legacy is not over because she lives through the love and advice we share that came from her loving example. To be perfectly honest, the thought of this crazy world without her in it scares me to my core, feeling lost without my anchor, but I know she would want us all to carry on and be strong. There will not be a single day that goes by when I don’t think of her. I will do my best to carry on her legacy in the hopes I can help lift another. I know a large part of the best part of who I am bloomed from her amazing example of selfless, unconditional love she always had in her heart for everyone around. Thank you, Aunt Nancy, for loving me, and loving all of us. You will be sorely missed more than my words can ever say.