A brief eulogy of sorts

My aunt Sophia passed away last night. I wasn't as close to her as many others in my family, but I remember her as an intelligent and kind lady. She took primary care of my grandmother while she was alive, was a professor in Mexico and dabbled in stone statues that my father sold for her at his tool shop. I saw her often as a child, but much less as I grew older and saw my Tijuana extended family less and less often. I'd talk to her every few years at family gatherings or when she came to visit my father.

I remember my parent's offering to give me a stone picnic table that Sophia had made- it was beautifully decorated with ceramic tiles, but wobbled unevenly. I think it had been sitting unsold at their store for several months. I thought it might be a good table for people that had too much to drink at carne asadas, but my wife and I decided to pass on it. I kind of wish I had that table now.

Another time, I remember our garage being full of stone animals for about a year, until my mother freed them to roam in different placements among our yard. It made the yard look almost like a zoo. I don't know if Sophia ever made much money with the statues, but they were always pretty.

I never got around to seeing Sophia before she died- part of me felt like I wasn't close enough to offer her much comfort and another part of me has trouble dealing with cancer, even some ten years after I survived it. But, I know that she was surrounded by family that loved her. Her siblings, including my father, went to see her frequently.

I wish her the best and hope she has that peace in heaven that she deserves.