For My Tío

One thing about my tío, he was too funny.

Was. I hate the past tense so much.

To commemorate his life, I'd like to share one of my favorite memories of him with you all.

Summer 2019, my family and I went to Florida to visit my other relatives before I went off to my first year of college. This year, I got to see almost all of my relatives, including my uncle's family, who I hadn't seen since my Sweet 16.

We were staying over at my grandmother's house, and I remember being so excited to see my cousins, my aunt and uncle. It all feels like it just happened yesterday.

My dad had decided that he wanted to prank my uncle using the Pirouette Wafers that I had gotten but were empty (which he pranked me earlier in the day and I was very much NOT amused). My grandmother had the tendency to use those cans to store seasonings in and every time I had gone over to her house thinking they were the wafers, there weren't any, and it was always disappointing. So, my dad wanted to do the same thing to my uncle. He left them on the counter nearest to the front door and said, "He's gonna think grandma did this and I cannot wait to see his face."

Later in the day, my uncle and his family came through the door, and I was really excited to see them. We hugged and started talking about my hopes for college. I had declared music as a major and they were really excited for me to go down an artistic path. I began talking to my cousin, who was huge and so mature. My aunt said all the grandkids looked alike and it was scary, which yeah, we all had really dark hair and the glasses were all basically the same.

I had gone to sit down with my cousin and brother and my uncle and dad were in the kitchen talking. As I turn to look at them, I see my uncle reaching for the can of wafers to open them and we all just silently watched him to see there were none inside. "Son of a b*tch. Why the hell do you do this every time I'm here?!" he said. We all started cracking up. My dad then tells him that he did it and that I fell for it earlier. "It's rude, right? It's every time!" He said to me, and I laughed. A few hours later, they decided to head back to their hotel. We said our goodbyes and they wished me luck in college.

That was the last time I saw my uncle. That is how I want to remember him. Happy and laughing.

He got sick in the middle of 2023 and unfortunately recently passed away. I have not stopped crying when thinking about him. The night before he passed, he came to me in my dream.

He said, "Don't ever give up on what you want out of this life. I will be with you every step of the way." And I promise I won't tío.

In his honor, I have decided to not only write this, but to always have an unopened can of the wafers for him. They will always be there for him as both a reminder of a loving memory of him and that he will always be with me no matter what. I miss him so much, but I am glad he's no longer in pain.

Wherever you are, I won't give up my fight. I promise.

Te amo tío.