Tough Stuff- Saying Goodbye

Sometimes the hardest part about travelling is not being able to go home at a moments notice when it’s really important. A few days ago, our family lost a member; my aunt Pat. The news came over the internet waves like most information I receive these days, and I can only be thankful that this kind of technology exists. As I cried over the laptop with my mom and dad, I cursed that the teleportation or instant money technology hasn’t been invented yet.

It’s a hard notion to wrap your head around that things may not be the same when you get home; people have moved on, moved out, hooked up, got married, and even passed away. And as much as I want to go back to the life I left on October 23rd, 2008, I know that will never happen. All that any traveller can hope for is that there will be a place for them, somewhere, when they do decide to return. And all I can offer when I’m gone, is that everyone can trust that I think about them everyday, and miss them more. Here are some words to describe aunt Pat; may she find peace where she is now.

Patricia Coulson Hawes
March 17th, 1948- July 8th 2009

She wasn’t a woman that I got to know very well outside the realm of an aunt, but the life she lived was the greatest way that I had gotten to know her. Her children, Kyle, Amy, and Julie, were always a great inspiration and influence for me and I’m sure to a lot of others as well. They are a true reflection of Pat and all the things that made her a wonderful person, multiplied into three wonderful people. Opening her home to Grandma and caring for her for many years. Her work with teaching challenged children; a gift to her students and a reflection of her kind, generous nature. Finally, her way of being; always being the picture of happiness, even when things may not have been, her brilliant sense of humor, her warm and inviting regard; and for me, her laugh. The most honest and joyful laugh, that when I close my eyes, I can hear it and picture her face.

She was not only my aunt, but a mother and a grandmother, a sister, a partner, and a friend. A magnificent woman whom I will miss greatly, and I only hope that I can express that here, as I cannot be with the family at this time.