In light of the recent death of Gene Wilder, I found myself watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with the few spare hours I still have. Anyone who knows me is aware I hold this movie high on my list regardless of how old I get. As I have seen this movie hundreds of times, I was particularly struck this time by the scene where Grandpa Joe (finally) gets out of bed and onto a new journey in his life. This scene had never struck me before, but this time around I found this drew a similarity in my life.

Recently, my beloved Nana Nu moved to an apartment and is no longer always right down the street from me. I'm the worst person at accepting change of any kind, but because I love getting to see her all the time I was really reluctant to this change. Now that she is getting settled and is loving her new life, I felt it was time that I wished her luck on her latest journey.

Dear Nana,

You are the strongest person I know. I say this without any doubt in my mind. I stand in awe of you everyday and how you are able to push through everything life has thrown at you with a smile.

You believed in me when I couldn't believe in myself. Whenever I or anyone else has doubted me, you remind me of just how lucky I am and how your love and strength are all I really need.

Being in your presence makes me a better person. I am better because I have you as a consistent in my life. I would not be the person I am today without you. You, without even knowing it, push me to want to succeed more than I ever could have dreamed just to make you even prouder.

Your ability to love and always look at the light in life is inspiring. I have never seen someone be the recipient of so much love. Seriously, there is no one. Not only to you get all this love, but you give out even more love than that.

You make us proud of who we are. We are proud of our family, our heritage and who we are becoming everyday. All of this wouldn't be as strong if you hadn't given us the foundation for our tight-knit family structure, and total acceptance of ourselves and others.

Thank you for somehow being good at everything! You can fix a hem in a minute, remove any kind of stain and make your sheets feel fresh for a solid week. Also, thank you for making sure we never leave your house hungry. We know that just isn't in your nature.

This certainly isn't long enough, nor begins to express how much I adore you, and I'm sorry for that. There aren't enough words in the English language, or time to write that all down because it's simply impossible to put it into words. You are love personified!

No matter where you are, I will always love you most!