Joyeux Anniversaire to Ma Tante

Today is my Aunt's birthday - she's my rock and roll rebel Aunt - une dame super cool et voilà pourquoi:

• As a teenager, my Aunt used to wear a beehive - she would roll her hair in soda cans, sleep on them and then wake up and tease the heck out of her bleached blond hair. A half-can of Aqua-net held it all in place!
• She had the cat-eye down pat.
• When I was eight years old, my Aunt bought me copper hair spray - it literally made copper streaks in my hair.  I'm sure my parents loved her for it. 
• When I was little, I used to think that the mall was the coolest place in the entire world. My Aunt used to take me there - we took photos in the photo booth and I got a new red wallet that I agonized over before spending the eight dollars it cost to buy it.
• My Aunt uses words like "cool", "awesome" and "wicked".
• She's crafty - she handmade dolls for my brother, sister and me when we were little. My doll was black and white with zebra stripes, just like my bedspread at the time.
• My Aunt's favorite color is blue.  She used to have a blue lazy-boy style chair that was her spot. She also had the squishiest blue pillows on her couch that I loved to plop my head on.
• She swore by lemon-flavored lip balm. I'm sure she's changed brands by now, but for me, the lemon-flavor will always equal my Aunt.
• She's very techie - she was emailing before any of us.
• When the big earthquake hit California (I was 12) and my parents were on vacation in the Caribbean, my Aunt drove to come and get us. Normally the drive would have taken 45 minutes, but because of the earthquake, it took her an entire day on the freeway.  And she did it - for us.
• When I would take a nap at her house, she would put on relaxing Native American tunes to help me relax.
• Now she is a Grammy to my little cousin - they do crafts together, read books and wear matching do-rags.
• She could peruse the aisles of CVS for days, product-lover that she is.  I totally feel her on this. CVS makes me happy.  You need a product for puffy eyes? My Aunt's your girl. Irritated skin? My Aunt knows what's up. She could be a product consultant. seriously.
• I could recognize her laugh in a crowd.
• Today is her birthday - and I'm thinking about her from my ragged couch in Paris.  I wish I had some cushy pillows, some copper hair spray and an instant photo booth - we could have such a good time.