im gonna miss her!...

My aunt who has been visiting from Cuba will be leaving us on Oct 10th. Im really gonna miss her. She has been here since April and will be returning to what has been considered "HELL on Earth". I wish she could stay but her children and grandchildren are there and unable to leave. While here we were able to show her the luxuries of a free country. We took her to see the mountains of NC and TN, we shopped religiously, we ate out, went to the movies and even grocery shopped! Yep...in Cuba the stores barely have food on the shelves. You have to wait in line for 2 days for a loaf of bread. Toilet paper is even sparce..so you can just imagine. While here we helped her celebrate her birthday..she turned 75..it was very emotional! At her age, she worries of leaving and possibly never seeing us again. She was able to bond with my kids, my nephew and was even here when my niece Sophie was born. It is going to be very difficult to send her back. As Americans, we cannot even go there to visit her! Sad to know that we are fighting a war thousands of miles away and we don't bother to help those that are 90 miles away from the US/FL coastline. DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT!! I write this to pay omage to her strength, hope, faith and most importantly her ability to smile no matter how hard things are for her and her family! When she leaves she will miss us horribly, as we will her! I pray that she will be strong and one day soon be able to experience freedom and hope in a better world for her and her kids! Ive helped her pack her suitcase..she is allowed to take back a whopping 44lbs!! wow! (THANKS to the Bush Administration)..she has packed a many "necessities" as possible to share with our loved ones. Her most prized possesion...pictures of us to look at and remember her trip to the US and a place she one days longs to be able to call her home. Adios Tia, te quiero con todo mi corazon y te voy a extranar enormemente!..Que Dios los quiede a todos! BESOS!