Forever in our Hearts

Today we mourn the passing of my aunt Kathy. She was a kind woman with a big heart. I wanted to post this blog to recount some of my fondest memories of her and to celebrate the woman that she was. She wasn't perfect, but nobody is.
I remember her babysitting me when I was younger. My sister and I would go there at 6am and she would have a bed set up on the floor for us to sleep on until Aleada woke up. She always had something funny to say when we woke up, no matter what. She used to take us to the pool and we would swim all day.
I remember her coming to visit my mom every day and bringing with her the children she was babysitting at that time.
She always loved animals for as long as I can remember. I remember her raccoon that she raised from a baby that she kept in her house. One time when we were old enough to stay home alone my sister went out walking our dog. She witnessed a groundhog being hit by a car and she ran home, got a towel, wrapped up the groundhog and brought it home and put it in our bathtub. The animal was clearly dead but my sister had hope that she could revive it. I called my mom at work and she told me to call Aunt Kathy. Aunt Kathy came right over. She saw the dead groundhog but she took me aside and told me to pretend that the groundhog was ok and make my sister think she had done a good thing. She called the humane society to come and take it away and we told my sister that they were going to fix him up. She stayed with us and sat with Rhonda to make her feel better about the whole situation.
She always made me laugh when I saw her, even in these last few years when she was sick. No matter how much she was hurting she always tried to crack a joke and make us laugh. Her sarcastic wit was the best.
I remember her calling me only a few months ago late at night. She was hungry and she wanted to have a cheeseburger. She didn't drive anymore so she couldn't get there herself to get it so she called me to see if I would go and get it for her. Of course I did. She thanked me for being her "meals on wheels".
It was so nice today at her funeral to see all the people who came out to mourn her. She had so many friends and family members. She also had a lot of people who didn't know her all that well but whose lives she touched in some way.
I am thankful that she was my aunt and I am happy that she was in my life. I am going to miss her but I'm also very thankful that she no longer has to suffer.
She will be forever in our hearts.