I was deeply saddened this week to have learned of Aunt Linda’s passing. I have been in Texas now for over a decade and I haven’t always maintained contact with the people whom have impacted my life in a positive way. The time which I had the pleasure of spending with each of the four of you (Uncle Terry, Aunt Linda, Aaron and Nan) while I was living in Grandfalls had been positive and left an impression on me that I will be forever grateful to each of you for.  

I want to say, that often the things Aunt Linda had done while I was in her presence had impressed me, being impressive in the way that there isn’t always words in our language to convey, however if I were to say the first word that comes to mind, I would say exceptional.

To me Aunt Linda has been a perfect example of the type of mother I wished myself to be. There is a memory I have of a time with Aunt Linda and Aaron that it feels right to share, not because it was so far from ordinary on the day it occurred, but because it was so normal for Linda, it was her normal. A brief moment that easily could have and would have been abnormal for some people; but Linda had a way about her that made things normal only because she did them so often, until they became so.

So many times I remember standing back and watching how Aunt Linda was as a mother that really did set the bar for me in parenting and established a standard for where to hold myself. She made the speed of action and ease of reaction look so much easier than I had imagined it to be because she was so good at it... And she was absolutely right in how surprised a person can be in the amount of things they can get done on so little sleep.

Before I digress too much further, I will say that I am sure Aaron was too young the last time I saw him before I moved back to Texas, and likely too young then to remember any of this. I am pretty sure he was too young when I moved to even remember me, but I do remember my little cousin even if he can't be all that "little" anymore, certainly not a toddler. 

When he was just a toddler I would often spend days with Nan Janes and so much of that I would go upstairs and watch kid shows with him (at that time it was usually Bob the Builder). Aaron was the youngest child I had been around by that time and truly I wouldn’t have had much of an idea what to do when my own son, Troy came along had it not been for that time with Aaron and Aunt Linda.  

One day Aunt Linda went downstairs with Nan, likely to watch NTV news while leaving Aaron and I to watch kid’s shows on the t.v upstairs in the living room.  I cannot recall what exactly it was, but something struck him as being so incredibly funny that he ended up laughing so hard that to anyone not actually in the room it must have sounded like a child wailing. It took all but two seconds of him laughing so loudly before I heard quick thumping of footsteps coming up the stairs. This gave me only mere seconds to spin around, to find Aunt Linda standing behind me with a look on her face that went from confusion to relief; while continuously evolving into an amused smirk that only kept growing, spreading across her face until she burst into a fit of laughter matching that of Aarons as she managed to force out an explanation for me.

“He was only laughing!" she said, almost embarrassed in herself over what she may have felt at the time an unjust overreaction. Although this was anything but a true sign of what made her such a good parent.  

"I thought he was crying!” she added between laughs which were only because I had been the one who had become confused in what was so funny by that point.

This one memory that stands out in my mind distinctively among so many others which there are too many to list without a novelization, for the swiftness and the gracefulness in that this happened. I have often reflected upon with a profound respect for my Aunt. In many of these moments, I didn’t really understand the magnitude until I became a parent myself, but nevertheless could realize how wondrous a thing to be given the chance to bear witness.  

It is no exaggeration in what I mentioned before in that Linda was truly an exceptional person that all who had the honor of having been in the presence of could see. She was a teacher, and a great one at that. I really wouldn't have any idea what to do as a mother had it not been for the time I spent with Linda and Aaron back then. She did teach me much by providing me with an example.

She had a way of, inspiring people, even if it wasn’t intentional. In truth I think is the best kind of inspiration, as it radiates with humility and a subtly that reaches out and leaves a lasting impression. Aunt Linda was one of the rare people that is capable of possessing various traits that, young girls are taught to look up to in a women which to aspire. There are very few people women whom I can say with full honesty that I have met that do. She was intelligent and protective, very-well spoken with a sense of humor that found sense in the nonsensical. I will always remember Aunt Linda as a voice reason and honesty who gave some great realistic advice during the car rides she often gave me. Plenty of that advice my younger teenage self didn’t fully appreciate for what it was. I wasn't able to understand it then the way I can now, that took time, some of it even years to sink in, so I could grasp the meaning.  It's really only when reflecting back on what was said later that I wish I had listened and paid closer attention because she was right, and now I am able to agree in how much made perfect sense.

She was a person to admire and one who had the things to proudly aspire. That much I cannot say enough because it holds true. I feel that I had been fortunate to have had a chance to have spent time even if only briefly to see how it was that Linda loved with her all, and without hesitation.

Words cannot convey how much Linda's words and actions have touched and will forever resonate in others; just some of the many reasons why Aunt Linda was, and will continue to be exceptional.