[Note To Self]

Taking a short break from poking at my brain.

Let’s work backwards, shall we?

I can analyze this to… it’s end, but the truth is, I missed one and now I’ll miss one.

I missed the passing of friend and I found out about a year and a half after the fact on Facebook.

I had loosely kept up with Auntie Carla and Auntie Nalani since I left DFS.  “The Aunties” as I called them, used to demonstrate Hawaiian quilting at DFS (Duty Free Stores?) in Waikiki.  I ended up working in their area during demo nights and we became friends.  My manager was a little… ok, there were moments of batshit crazy.  I was full-time in school and part-time/full-time at work, depending on the whims of “Mommy” (Nickname for the boss) and the needs of the schedule.  The Aunties helped keep me sane… we had all gone to the same high school, a couple of decades apart.  They were childhood friends, they were family.  Auntie Nalani gave me a misprint of one of her pillow slip designs… I loved the design, even if it was a mistake.  She autographed it for me and I still have it in my house.

They cheered me on when I finally left DFS.  We said we’d keep in touch.  Facebook, right?

Fast forward to last night.  I’m looking through Facebook’s “On This Day” feature.  There was an old post from Auntie Nalani… “Hey you!!! You look great please keep in touch.”  Cute, right?  I started going through her profile because yeah… I hadn’t heard from her in a long time.  I saw a bunch of posts with Auntie Carla, so I clicked over to Auntie Carla’s profile.

First thing I noticed was her profile picture.  I thought, “Wow, Auntie Carla looks really pretty there!”  I remembered that her oldest daughter had given birth to a son a few years ago, so I started looking through Auntie Carla’s photos.

That pretty picture was used on the cover of the program at her funeral service.

My heart dropped.  How in the world did I miss this?

I missed it the same way anyone misses anything.  Things happen.  Time happens.  Life happens.  I wish I had something incredibly profound to say here, but I really don’t.

I missed one and now I miss one.