Daniel (My Favorite Uncle)

Happiness can always be found

no matter how bad your day is

happiness can be found over the loss of a beloved one

you smile and laugh at the jokes you shared

the stupid things you did together

I remember when my favorite uncle died

I cried when I finally realized he was gone and he won’t come back

it took me a while

but when the music played at the funeral

the times we spent were gone

at that moment

what we had was gone

I felt worse when I thought about the mean things I said to him

I was always kidding

but did he know that?

it's been 5 years already

time goes by fast

we arrived at his grave on his birthday

he’s 41 now

when we get there

his mother, stepfather, brother, sister-in-law, and his brother’s son were already there

I stood and thought

“it’s sad that his parents had to outlive their youngest son.”

we released balloons in his honor

in the air flew more than 20 balloons

I wished I had wrote a note on one of the balloons

my aunt then said it would be a miracle if one of the balloons were to end up at one of our houses

what’s weird was there wasn't one “happy birthday” balloon when we got out of the car

on the way back home

a balloon hit my head

I grabbed a sharpie and wrote on the back,

“Happy birthday, Daniel

I still miss you

I’m glad you were in my life

you were and always will be my favorite uncle

I love you,

C.J.”

I realized in these 5 years that he must have always known

I smile now because of him

I laugh because he was the one person who made me smile

even when I was mad

I will always love my crazy uncle