This past weekend while I sat on the couch my aunt was busy running/biking/swimming her first Iron Man. Crazy right? Whenever I mention this to people, the first thing out of their mouth is: "I could never do that!" Over the course of this weekend, I've started asking myself, "Why not?" My aunt is a teacher, the mother to three beautiful children, and now an Iron Man. So what is stopping me? Well mostly the fact that I despise running with all my being, so while with training I probably would not mind biking 112 miles, running would probably result in me sitting on the side of the course grumbling about how much I hate running. Anyway, this article is not about me and my hatred of running, but it is about my wonderful aunt. This is a thank you letter to all of my aunts, near and far.

Thank you for being there for me. Whether it is surprising me (and my mom) by coming to a show of mine or letting me live in your house or buying me that list minute thing I need or being that ear I really needed.

Thank you for your words of encouragement. Those little texts congratulating me on something small to those sporadic care packages to those letters you used to send me at church camp stay with me to this day.

Thank you for teaching me to be strong. For telling me to stand up for myself, for telling me to stand up for others, for showing me that I can be my own boss - that all I need in life is a strong work ethic.

Thank you for teaching me to be loud when necessary and quiet when necessary. I've watched you fight for what you believe in, and I've watched you sit on the sideline when there were other battles you wanted to win. You've taught me time and again where to find that balance.

Thank you for teaching me to love myself. You've watched me struggle, but I always knew I had people in my corner cheering me on. I knew I had someone to go to, I knew I had someone to tell me at the end of the day everything would be okay, and most importantly, I knew I had a second mom to go to when I needed it.

Thank you for teaching me to be me. Thank you for the years of encouragement to pursue my dreams, for letting me pick your brain about what it was like to be a teacher, a designer, a lawyer, an accountant, a nurse, or a college student. Thank you for showing me that I can be anything I want to be. That I do not need to be a super human, that healthy is not defined by pant size but instead by how I feel and if I'm active. Thank you for everything, and I hope to be at least the people you all are someday.