There's something special to be said about a girl's relationship with her aunt. That relationship

could almost be described as a combination of a mom and a best friend. Coming from a large family,

I have lots of aunts and uncles, and with each one, I share a different relationship.

A personalities mix to form different bonds, creating special connections between us. Each of my

aunts have shaped me

in ways they could never imagine, and have taught me lessons they likely never realized that they were

teaching. From them, I learned what it means to love unconditionally, to give your time and efforts to

those closest to you, to give a helping hand anytime you can, and to never, under any circumstances, cut your cornbread.

Over the years, I've tried to let them know how much I love them and value the time they've invested in me,

through their subtle or sometimes not-so-settled lessons. But youth has a funny way of robbing us

from expressing our true gratitude in the moment when we're given

life advice from the ones closest to us. We often let moments go that should have been recognized.

We let gestures happen that should have deserved a thank you or a hug, not because we really mean to,

but because life is happening all around us and we're afraid to take our eyes off the road ahead

even for just a second.

If we all were to stop and think for a minute, we could each come up with a moment with a family

member or a close friend that we let slip away, whether they were giving unwanted advice that

later proved invaluable or if they were asking for a few moments of your time that you refuse to

give. Those moments can haunt us.

And we often catch ourselves playing the what-if game.

What if I had listened to my brother and went to college in Texas near where he was stationed?

Would he still be here today because he would have been in Texas, rather than at home when the day he died?

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