Dear Nana (or insert impactful relative here),

First things first is I miss you. I miss you probably more than you know and I would give anything to hug you one more time. However, you most likely feel the same, and missing you isn’t the only thing I want to tell you about. Since you left us things have changed, not everything, but everyone has grown up. Everybody wishes you were here, but we know you’re always watching over us.

The first few weeks you were gone I was honestly lost, sitting in my room thinking how could the world take such a wonderful, selfless person. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do without my best friend, but I’ve learned to live a little different. I would sit there wondering who I was going to talk to when my day was long or who I was going to watch crime shows with. I wasn’t sure what to do when I had to do all the big events in my life and you wouldn’t be there to watch me. I cried for days wishing that it was a bad dream and I would wake up, but it never happened, it still hasn’t happened.

However, enough with the sadness, there is so much more I want to tell you, so much more you need to know. Throughout these past years so many things have changed, so many milestones that I wish you could’ve seen. I wish you could’ve seen me get my license (even if it took two tries). I wish you could’ve seen me get accepted into my top college, and then continue to fight for extra money in order to attend it. I wish you could’ve seen me dress up in my beautiful prom dress, with my hair and make-up all done. I wish you could’ve seen me smile across the stage at graduation. All the big events that you missed, I know you were watching over me, but I would’ve given the world to see you smiling back at me telling me how great I was. As much as you’ve already missed there’s a lot more to come, college graduation, my wedding, my children, everything. Through all the wishing and sadness over the big things, I’d give anything to sit in your room with you and talk about our days or just watch TV. Day to day I think about what it would be like if you were still with us today. I think about how I would call you during the day to gossip with you about all the stuff going on at home and to complain about the things that are annoying me at school. I want to be able to tell you everything that’s happening in my life, no matter how big or how small.

I also need you to know how much you still mean to me and how much of an influence you had on my life. I live everyday as positively as I can, trying to brighten the lives of others just like you did. I don’t think you truly knew how much of an impact you had on all the people you knew or spent time with. I’ve been told by family, friends, and even strangers how good you made them feel and how happy you made them. I’m always reminded of how great you were because of the amount of joy you brought to a room and how when people reminisce about you they become incredibly happy. You brought so much joy into the world and I have never met anyone like you, anyone who had the pleasure of meeting you were truly lucky.

Thank you for every little thing you ever did for me and everyone else around you.

I miss hearing your hum.

I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck...