Sure, it may seem odd to say that I'll miss someone I only knew for the first five months of my life. But I'll miss our special 1-on-1 theatre days, like she had every year with each of my cousins. I'll miss her famous apple pies that I never had the opportunity to taste.
I'll miss her contagious laughter and impromptu singing of show tunes. I'll miss joining her on spontaneous trips or just curling up in front of the fire with her and a book on a snowy Minnesota afternoon. I'll miss seeing the unique way she interacts with my dad and the way she makes my mother glow with confidence and pride. I'll miss her stories of London, Ireland, Australia, Bali, Tasmania, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Italy, Paris, Alaska, the Panama Canal, and all the other beautiful places dwarfed by her charismatic beauty.
She bought recordable books for me that she never had the chance to record. She had plans in the works for a special holiday gift for me that she never had the time to find. She was in the process of tracking down all of Dad's Golden Books, so that each of us could have a copy and read them together via online video chat. I'll miss all that and all the equally wonderful memories she had in the works for me.
But most of all, I'll miss her fierce love, her extraordinary thoughtfulness, and her larger-than-life belief in me and all I can do.
I'll love you forever, without even knowing you. Because you are a part of me--one of the best parts--and that will never change.
