The Greatest Gift I Have

There’s a lot we’re told to want this time of year. Wrapped boxes. Big gestures. Sparkly things that photograph well. And don’t get me wrong, I love a good gift. But the older I get, the clearer it becomes that the greatest gift in my life has never fit under a tree.

It’s my aunt.

She is the person I call when life feels too loud or too heavy or just slightly off. The one who answers the phone no matter the hour, no matter what she’s doing, no matter how small I try to make the problem sound. She has an incredible way of dropping everything without ever making it feel like she’s sacrificing something for me. She just shows up, steadily, quietly, completely.

When I’m overwhelmed with school, she doesn’t just tell me it’ll be fine. She sits down with me and turns panic into a plan. She helps me map out my days, break down the impossible, and meet deadlines I didn’t think I could reach. She believes in me most when I’m doubting myself, and somehow that belief always feels practical, not pressure-filled.

And when I need advice... real advice, not the kind wrapped in judgment or expectations, she gives me space to be honest. About my fears. My mistakes. My questions. She listens without flinching and responds without shame. She doesn’t tell me who I should be; she helps me understand who I already am.

What she gives me isn’t flashy. It doesn’t announce itself.

It’s consistency. It’s safety. It’s knowing that no matter how old I get, there is someone in my corner who wants me to succeed, rest, grow, and feel loved, all at the same time.

In a world that often feels rushed and transactional, she offers something radical: care without conditions.

So this Christmas, the greatest gift I have isn’t something I’m unwrapping. It’s someone who has taught me what support looks like, what love sounds like, and how powerful it is to feel truly seen.

And if I spend my life trying to be even a fraction of the woman she is, to others, and to myself, I think that might be the real gift she’s given me.

Merry Christmas Aunty Vee, I love you.

Xo, Charlotte