Bon-Bon!

This post is dedicated to someone I love very dearly and who has always loved and supported me back, unconditionally: my Aunt Bonnie, or as we affectionately call her, Bon-Bon.  One of the hardest things about leaving Massachusetts last year and making the cross-country trek to Southern California, was leaving Bon-Bon.  She is my family, and we cherished and adored our time together, especially regular Sunday dinners and holidays.  Earlier this evening, as I fought my way through traffic on the 405-North, making the long trek home from work, Bon-Bon came into my head and I decided to call her.  Well, she picked up right away and just sounded so happy to hear from me.  I could hear it in her voice.  And that made me, in turn, incredibly happy too.  But it also makes me miss her, and so here I'm going to reminisce a bit about Bon-Bon and all the good times we had together when we were living in Western Massachusetts, where she calls home.

One of my favorite memories of time spent with Bon-Bon was Labor Day weekend of 2019.  During most big holidays or holiday weekends, Bonnie came to our house with her dog, Snoopy, and often stayed for a few days in our guest room (really, her room).  This was one of those occasions.  On Sunday of that weekend I took Bon-Bon with me to a place I loved called Potterville Pottery, which was my "happy place" for so many months while we were going through some challenging times.  We needed to get out of the house and I knew she'd enjoy it.  We both did, and I will forever cherish the memory of just sitting across from her quietly painting pottery.  I painted a diptych of mountain scenery on tiles, which I gave to her as a gift before we left Massachusetts.  Here we are, posing for a selfie:

I have so many fond memories with Bon-Bon, such as our annual tradition of baking dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies, most of which we gave away as gifts.  We also loved making candy together, especially around the holidays (Valentines, Halloween)... pics below:

And what girl doesn't love a good manicure?  Bon-Bon and I shared a few of these together, and I think of her fondly whenever I get a mani/pedi now.  

It was hard to leave Bon-Bon, but she knew we needed to go.  And though we'd love to have her closer to us in California, we understand that her home is on the east coast.  All we can do is cherish our memories and keep in touch... thank God for technology like Zoom and FaceTime that make it so much easier.  Here's a pic of Bon-Bon and Snoopy on the last Christmas we had together (2019) in Massachusetts.  I hope we can do it again some day, maybe in California if she musters up enough courage and confidence to travel.

Regardless, I'm just forever grateful to have Bon-Bon in my life.  She's one of the first people I shared my transition with and, not at all surprisingly, was 100% supportive, accepting, and celebratory.  She's been like that my whole life, though for reasons I won't mention she wasn't always front-and-center.  Where there is true love, though, time and distance are irrelevant-- we will always reconnect and pick up where we left off.  From the bottom of my heart, Bon-Bon, I love you.