my name sake

That is what Aunt Anne always calls me, her name sake. My dad is an only child. He was raised by his mom (my fabulous, rockin', 84 year old, bingo playing, and jogging grandma), 2 aunts, and his grandmother. Up until yesterday, one of these aunts was still living. Aunt Anne died at 98 years old (her birthday is on Valentine's day, and it couldn't be more appropriate) yesterday morning.

98. YEARS OLD! I realize that means she had lived quite a full life, but the news was still devastating to us all. My grandmother called me and we sobbed on the phone. There's so much we have that is because of Aunt Anne's sacrifices. When everyone was going through school, she quit and went to work to support the family. She helped discipline my unruly father. On top of that, when my sisters and I were growing up, she spent a month at Christmas with us, and we went to visit her 2 weeks out of every summer.

Nearly two years ago was the last time I saw Aunt Anne. Now that we're grown, it's harder to get up there to see her. Here she is below, reuniting with my dad for the first time in probably five years...
Here they are having very deep discussions, as usual. She is the most wise woman you've ever met. She has more life experiences than anyone I know. She could also drink anyone under the table through her 80s :).

One of my cute little cousins wrote this about her. The beatitudes are a set of eight blessings contained in Matthew's gospel.

When Aunt Anne greets you, she always says "God love you, honey!"

Here is where we come from. In the bottom center, my great grandmother Tarooz and my great grandfather Elias. One of the children, my Aunt Maheb, is missing in the photo because she is the oldest, and never came over from Lebanon. At the time, you were only allowed to take one child with you on the boat, and Aunt Anne was a baby (and the second oldest) at the time.

Aunt Anne is the second from the top left. My grandmother is the bottom left, next to Tarooz. From this photo, only my grandmother, Uncle Joe (the man wearing that pimp suit!), and Aunt Lateefa (top right) are living.

Here she is again, notice her love for neon green. I think that's where I got my obsession for neon and bright colors!! My dad said recently that they named us perfectly. My middle sister, Virginia was named after Aunt Gina (top left in the above picture, passed away when I was 4), and they are so similar. I have grown to be so similar to Aunt Anne...always accessorizing, always in bright colors, always cheerful.

God love you, Aunt Anne! You'll be missed, but we'll carry on your legacy.