I Wrote This For Them...

And, now they are both gone. 

Seventeen years ago this month, I embarked on writing a blog. Originally, I started it because of a work project. Blogs were becoming huge and I did it to understand the intricacies of how they worked. But my aunts were reading it. They lived far away and though we didn't talk all the time, they always knew what was going on with me, my dog or my kids because of what I wrote on my blog. 

Me and my Auntie Jo and Auntie Do Do

But that all ended first on February 11 and then on March 23 when they both passed away within 6 weeks of each other. To say they will both be deeply missed is an understatement. Even though we didn't live close for the majority of my life (we really only lived in the same state about 5 years of my whole life), I felt especially close to both of them. My parents made a great effort to bring us there for many family holidays or summer vacation. We loved our time hanging out at my aunt's flower shop or on their farm or laughing at my Grandma (their mom) when she asked us why we drink "this shit" when we poured cups of sugar into Kool Aid. We bonded with our cousins and embarked on lots of adventures especially to Friendly's or Canobie Lake (amusement park). Often, I would go there without my parents when I got older. Sometimes I would bring friends too or a significant other. They would welcome everyone with open arms. When I had kids, we would go there too and I made it a point when each of my kids were five to go on a trip with just them to Boston. My aunts would pick us up from the bus stop and take us to lunch. And once when I was actually working and had brought Austen when he was five, they took care of him and spoiled him to death. 

So many great memories of my childhood holidays are wrapped up in them. I know I don't need to write this for them anymore because they can see everything now but I may have stopped writing this a long time ago if it wasn't for them. And now I have a gift. A gift I can give my children as it chronicles their whole lives since I started it before they were born. I hope to wrap this all up into a pretty book someday for them as a keepsake. So I'll keep on writing for them now and I'll carry the beautiful memories of my aunts in my heart forever.