"Only an aunt can give hugs like a mother, keep secrets like a sister and share love like a friend."

Brooke was an amazing woman. This quote is the epitome of the relationship she and I shared. She was so much more than just an aunt to me; she was a sister, a best friend, a second mother. I shared my deepest secrets with her, and she the same with me. I turned to her for advice knowing I could tell her anything and she would never judge me. She had a smile that lit up an entire room. She had a sense of humor that somehow found a way to turn even the gloomiest of days around.  Her goofy, witty charm never failed on anyone, especially not on me.

Though brooke lived nearly across the country, I was closer to her than people I saw every day. A year before she died, I spent spring break in South Padre Island with her. We had a great time creating so many wonderful memories and hilarious inside jokes that we enjoyed looking back on throughouther final year of life. I am so thankful to have had that time with Brooke. It was almost as if fate had a plan for us, I had gone years in the past without seeing Brooke just due to distance. But in the year before she died we spent a week together on a tropical island, she drove all the way from Dallas to Muncie to spend an extended weekend at our house around Halloween (it was our favorite holiday) and she and I seemed to talk more than ever. It still breaks my heart that I didn't get to say goodbye to Brooke. But I am so thankful for the things that we shared in her last year on this earth. About a month before Brooke died she had a really bad day and reached out to me. She talked about how she had always wanted to go to Brazil. We made plans to go together, just the two of us, the following Summer.
We talked about when we would go and what airlines we would travel through, we had it all planned out. I hope to save up money and go to Brazil someday. It breaks my heart that we never got to go on that trip together, but I also know that she will be there with me. I hope to release her ashes there, because I know that's what she would want. I will never be able to grasp the fact that Brooke is gone. Anyone who knew and loved her would say the same.

Brooke had planned to get married and have children. She told me about this in her last year of life. She wanted to start a family soon because shee felt like she was getting old. She only wanted one child; she always joked that she would be a bad mom. She wouldn't have, though. Brooke would have been one of the best mothers this world as seen. It makes me sad to think that she never had
a chance to fulfill this wish, but wherever Brooke is I hope she knows that she may have not had children of her own but I looked up to her in the same ways I look up to my mom. I feel that Brooke has a huge hand in the person I am today. She lived with my family and I when I was young, she was there for me with all of my problems as a teenager. Brooke helped to raise me and make me the person I am today. A unique sense of humor, a huge love for animals, a big heart - these are all things that I know I got from Brooke. A huge part of her lives on with
me today. It has been three years since she left us, and it still doesn't feel real. I still, to this day, will think that I'm going to call Brooke to tell her about something big happening in my life. It hasn't gotten any easier with time but every day I see parts of Brooke in  myself. That way I know she lives on. Though Brooke may not be here physically, a great part of her will always be here in spirit and in heart. I miss you every day Brooklyn
Love always,
hooch