Aunt Alli

My name is Taylor. I am Allison’s youngest niece. I am last in line after my brother Zach, cousin Jessica and cousin Tyler. It must have been an adjustment for Aunt Alli, to once be considered the baby of the family, to then suddenly having 4 little ones running around, all of us under the age of 4. She loved us as a group, but she also went out of her way of showing us love as individuals. She always supported all of us in everything we did growing up, even when she lived a couple hours away, she always made sure to be there for every major moment in our lives. Some of the best times we would have as a family were going up to visit her. We spent time shopping in Seattle, eating at her favorite restaurants, and going to a few Mariner games. We also had an abundant of family games that we all played together. From SkipBo, Phase 10, and BUNCO, to our recent favorites of Quarkle and the 4-5-6 dice game. Our family group texting chats were filled with funny pictures or videos, a lot of bickering, and lots of pictures that she took of Barrett sleeping in random places.

I was lucky enough to be included on their trips to Disneyland the last couple of years. There was never a dull moment between running around to the different rides, running to get fast pass tickets, and running to Starbucks for an afternoon fix. We spent a lot of our time waiting in the lines figuring out what faces we should make for the camera next, even when we knew that Malena would be the only one screaming. We both always dreaded going on the water rides, but by the time they were over, we were all laughing until our stomachs hurt.

The last trip we took was to Couerdlane Idaho last August. We had went shopping the day before, so Alli was looking up places for us to go and she found that Post Falls Idaho had a cute downtown area that we could walk around in. So we all hopped in our car and she was the copilot giving my mom the directions. We took the exit to Post Falls, and stayed on the same two-road lane for a couple miles, and then a couple more miles. It didn’t look like there was anything that resembled a downtown area coming up, but she insisted it was just a little bit longer. Eventually we turned into a gas station so she could ask for directions. While waiting, we discovered that we might have been in the downtown Post Falls area because next to the gas station was a liquor store and smoke shop. And across the street was a “gentlemen’s” club. We would have stayed and enjoyed all that Post Falls had to offer, but we had Malena with us and we didn’t think she was ready for that yet.  When she came out of the gas station she told us, “the cashier had no idea what I was talking about and someone uploaded pictures from a different downtown area. We are in the wrong place.”

Aunt Alli was a person who always put others needs in front of her own. Even when she was feeling down or not in the best health, she still lead the way for creating Happy Mail campaigns to whoever needed it no matter where they were. She was always there for every major moment in my life, and the lives of my cousins and brother.  She was at every appointment and every day of surgery when my mom was going through breast cancer, so I wanted to show her just how much I appreciated her. We once had a passing conversation about Broadway shows that we would love to see, and we both said how much we would love to see Hamilton. It was a couple months later when I saw that the show was coming to Seattle, and I thought that it must be fate. I did everything I could to get just two tickets. It ended up taking a couple hours, during a work day, but I finally made it through. I decided to keep it a secret from her, and gave the ticket to her as a Christmas present. I remember being so nervous, not knowing if she had already gotten tickets. I don’t know if I can even explain the look of excitement that came over her face. She was jumping up and down, screaming, and looking at me like “this better not be a joke.” March 17, 2018 turned out to be one of them best days of my life. We had a lunch of fish and chips with some of our favorite cider. Then, did a little shopping at American Eagle. We talked about our favorite songs from the show and which parts we were most anxious to see. We also joked that we were both definitely ready to go up on stage if they needed us to fill in for anyone. Finally, we made it to the show, with our seats near the very top, but we could still see the stage. There was one point during the show, when I look over at Alli, and she is napping. I could not believe it! I then knew what she must have felt like when Barrett fell asleep at the Michael Buble concert. So I did what she did, I subtly moved by body, to make it look like we were just strangers just sitting next to each other. She woke up a few minutes later, and neither of us ever talked about it, and I promised myself that I would never let anyone know that she had fallen asleep because I knew that she would never live that down especially after all the times she took pictures of any us sleeping at random times.

I don’t know how there can be a world without Aunt Alli in it. She was someone who was so happy to see you whenever you hadn’t seen each other in a while. Her smile and laughter could light up a room, and make you smile and laugh right a long with her. I don’t know if there will every be a time that I won’t wait to hear her greet me as “hey sister” or when she would wake up with the mornings and come downstairs and tell us all that she knows that we are jealous of how her hair looks, but she just can’t help that she woke up like that. I’ll miss her hugs, and when she’d ask if you were ready for another cider, even when you’re only halfway through your first one. There has been a constant ache in my heart since you’ve been gone, but I know that you’ll always be watching over us. You are the best aunt anyone could ever ask for. I love you and I miss you. I can’t wait to see you again.