RIP Whitney Houston. Hopefully now she’ll have more than one moment of the peace and happiness that seemed to elude her so often in life. So sad.

People who know me are probably going at this point, um, okay… I had no idea you were such a Whitney Houston fan. Because her music isn’t really the kind of thing I’d normally listen to. But Whitney Houston was such an indelible part of my childhood that her death feels like the loss of my favorite crazy but lovable aunt with the phenomenal voice who was always cajoling my mom into singing along with her (when she wasn’t saying awesome shit like crack is wack. because that is the kind of thing a crazy but lovable aunt should say). Whitney Houston was on non-stop play in my house growing up.

This song in particular is special to me because it was played during the dove release at my mom’s funeral, creating a rather epic moment on top of a verdant hill in Forest Lawn, a moment that was awesome and moving and beautiful and sad. It really was like something out of a movie and that moment would not have been quite as powerful or touching as it was without Whitney Houston’s amazing voice and those horns at the end, so thank you for that, Ms. Houston. Tomorrow is (would’ve been?) my mom’s birthday as well… so yeah. Extra double sad.