Giannina Hilbun

A year ago today since you've been gone, and still I reach for the phone to call you, wanting to share the latest great book, or talk about the Oscars or the Tony Awards, or (most often), just wanting to hear your voice one more time. I miss you, beautiful friend, but I know your spirit is never far away.

Gee, it's almost your birthday. I'll light a candle for you tomorrow, and put on Pavarotti, and bake your perfect carrot cake. I'll look at the glass globe you gave me---the one with the blue forget-me-nots in it. It sits in my kitchen window and keeps me company while I'm washing dishes. And you will know, my dear friend, that even without forget-me-nots to remind me, I would never forget you, or the goodness you brought to my life.

Gee.....such incredible kindness, passion and light she brought with her wherever she went. I can picture her walking up the street with either her shorts and t-shirt or her sweats and sweatshirt ready to hit the trails with my mom:) And what a gift she was to all my children.....a bonus grandma whenever they were at the house with my parents on Soule. We all loved her so much. I still have the card she gave me 30 years ago when I turned 21 because the personalized poem makes me laugh every...

Gee was, in every way, loving and beautiful. She was also the last of the great letter writers. In front of me I have the last three letters I received from her, all written within a month of her passing. On the front of one of these letter-cards, flanked by falling blossoms and a blue butterfly, are the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Scatter joy."

That is exactly what Gee did. She scattered joy wherever she went, and whenever she welcomed people into her home---and she welcomed...

The world seems a little less bright. I can't think of single childhood holiday family memory in which my 'Favorite Aunti G' wasn't a cardinal fixture. She had the incredible gift of being able to talk to, whether you were 4 or 44 and show the exact same level of genuine interest in what you were saying. Always a kind word, funny story, and supportive comment. Never did a birthday go by without one of her incredible custom made cards arriving a few days early. A generous heart and a warm...

My dearest Giannina...I will miss you til we meet again. I am blessed to be your son. Love always .-j