To my aunt Ru:

My aunt Ru, who was fighting a long battle with cancer, passed away on Monday.
And today, we said goodbye.
I don't cry in front of people, ever, but for Ruth this was different.
Our souls are not connected "just" as aunt and niece...there was always something more
and I love her with everything I have.

My family asked me to post the speech that I gave during her funeral.
I cried like a little schoolgirl for 90% of it,
but everyone told me how beautiful it was.
I know Ru loved it, too (but she would've told me "Stop crying, ya big weenie!")


To my incredible aunt Ru: I love you for so many reasons.

I love you because of your bright sense of humor, sarcasm, and wittiness. You are the biggest smart-ass I've ever known* and you could turn any situation into a funny one.

I love you because you were never afraid to say what you thought, how you felt, or to stand up for someone. People always knew where they stood with you because of your valiant honesty.

I love you because you were the only babysitter my brother and I ever had who would let us stay up late and watch Beavis & Butthead. And when I was young and afraid of sleepovers, you would tuck me in the same way my mother would.

I love you because of the letters we used to send to one another--always covered in stickers, glitter, and confetti. We would always try to out-funny one another.

I love you because, no matter how bad things got, you never made it all about yourself. You were always trying to brighten someone else's day.

Most of all, I love you because you are absolutely everything I want to be as a woman: strong, funny, smart, caring, and beautiful in every way.

I know that many of us still feel like this is a bad dream...that it isn't real. That we'll call her cell phone and hear her voice on the other end. Or in my case, that I'll go into my kitchen and find Ru's latest card, with stickers all over it, along with a fresh tray of her famous eggplant parmasean.

But, it's so important to remember that she's still with us. Whenever we see beauty in the world, we'll think of her. She'll visit us in our dreams, keep an eye out (or maybe two eyes now) for our safety. She'll live on not just in our memories, but in our perseverance and ambitions. And most of all, she'll forever be the sarcastic voice inside our heads.

I love you, my cup of soups. And I hope we're all going to make you proud.
<3 

*No, I didn't call her a smart-ass in church. I'm classier than that--that sentence was originally omitted :) I did say Butthead though, which I suppose isn't much classier.