Aunt Helen and I share the same birthday, May 5th. 

On our birthdays and on other birthdays and holidays there would a special meal made by my mom. If it was a meatloaf, and once or twice a year it was, Aunt Helen and I were always in a friendly competition: we would both go after the end pieces because we both enjoyed the meatloaf "crispier/crunchier" as we would laughingly say.

At Christmas, I could always count on Aunt Helen getting me the new almanac for the next year so I would be up to date on what's going on, important people, facts, discoveries, etc. She truly played a big role instilling a love of learning in me--and you should have seen her expertly doing her NYT and other crossword puzzles!