Don’t ever underestimate the remarkable impact you can have on a young person. It was my Aunt Linda’s Birthday yesterday and her 26th Birthday in heaven. I still miss her terribly. Reflecting on my early years with her is what’s driving this post. She was my first friend and tireless cheerleader. Her unconditional love and encouragement to unabashedly express my spirit with singing, dancing, cartwheels and whatever else I could dare to do is what helped form me. Knowing that the realities of life can push aside those authentic parts of ourselves she wisely tried to reinforce them. My Aunt Linda was diagnosed at 16 with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She suffered through many surgeries and endless side effects from various medication.. She never married and lived with her mom, my paternal grandmother, her whole life. Lucky for me growing up in Queens in a small apartment, she was a shining light just two floors above me. Because of her illness, her hands were disfigured, and she walked with much difficulty and faced many other physical challenges. I didn’t realize at the time, but she taught me not to “see” disability, just the person. Even as a child she let me cut her hair, paint her nails and put makeup on her (trust me it was a huge kindness, being only 6 or 7 years old, it was not a stellar job). Letting me express my creativity in this way most likely was the impetus for me to get my cosmetology license once my kids were in school to fulfill a dream of having my own beauty business. I learned what it meant to have a true friend and how to be one. A particularly cherished memory is of her playing a Cher RECORD over and over again while writing down the words of the song with her painfully gnarled hands just so I could memorize the words of the song. (a 45 rpm, and if you don’t know what that is then you are not in my demographic and I love you even more for taking the time to read my post <3) We were both big Cher fans and watched episodes of the Sonny and Cher show endlessly. Thank you Aunt Linda for helping shape my sense of self-worth and showing me what true acceptance and authenticity means, even though I did not know it at the time.