They say that age is just a number and for us it really was, despite the significant age difference between us, you were and always will be one of my best friends. The eagerness you had to see me always made me feel so special. I loved the way you would do your little dance whenever something good happened or when your favorite football team won their game. I loved the way you secretly loved flattery and how you would give your last penny the ones you loved. I remember going to your house and getting a strong whiff of something cooking or your signature air freshener. I remember our funny little escapades in the kitchen. I remember how clumsy and silly we sometimes got, or how we would lower our voices to a whisper and plot ways to prank the guys.I even remember when things did not work out and simply ate burnt dinner. I remember the times when you would sit with me and plan all my birthday and graduation, the promises we made each other. There was never a boring moment in your presence; you were as unpredictable as the weather, yet as dependable and reliable as they come. With you, times were not always sunny skies and ease of mind, sometimes things got hard. The time you got breast cancer came as a mighty surprise. I remember the look of terror in your eyes, the terror in your eyes, the sadness, the pain that you would never let anybody see, especially not me. You had a fight in you that was stronger than any military. Everyone loved you, that was evident with the people who gathered at the hospital the day of your surgery, the ones who filled your refrigerator with pastries and casseroles and lasagnas, the ones who prayed and hoped that fate was on your side. It was evident in the ones who visited you in recovery and chemo therapy. I was there when you went through tireless hours of looking for a car in your price range for your baby boy, through all those people who tried to cheat you and get under your much too generous skin. You were the richest person I had ever known, not with money, no, but with your love and compassion. People would tease you and say you were too protective, but you had your life, your tight knit little adopted family, and you were happy. Sure, we would have our fights, some over petty little things, some much more serious, some that would make a dent in our relationship. But there was an unspoken rule that you would have done anything for us and we would have done anything for you. I was not the person I am now before I met you that is for sure, you taught me to be a strong independent women, to fight for what I believe in, and to not in to the ones who wanted me to stoop to their level. I lost you to death about a month ago, and I never got a chance to honor you, so I guess this is my little way of honoring you. Thank you for being you. I will never forget you. There is not a day that goes by that I do not miss the colors that you brought into my life. Never forget that you are loved even in your passing and that I will be with you again another day in the future, and finally be able to tell you the words I never said. For now though, I love you and rest in peace.