Jodi Ella Aufdencamp

Jodi Aufdencamp was not only my mother, but my best friend. Words could never describe the relationship we had, she was the sun and my world revolved around her. I am sure she would say the same about Kohl and I, all she ever wanted to do was make us happy, no matter what that would take. She taught me how to be myself, that was all she ever wanted me to be, it didn’t matter as long as I was happy with who I was. I credit everything I am today to her. The most important lesson I learned from her was never to care about what anyone thought of me, and that there is never a wrong time to wear diamonds or have a little bit of caviar and champagne. But, Jodi wasn’t just a mother to Kohl and I, she was a mother to everyone. My mom loved all the kids in her life, she wanted to take care of everyone, wether that meant taking them to a movie or cooking them a spur of the moment four course meal. You could taste the love and compassion in her food. She had the culinary skills of a world class chef, but she never ever followed a recipe. I can only hope that one day I will be even remotely close to the woman she was. My mom will always be loved and missed by not only my family, but the family she’s created by bringing her loving personality into her work and social life. If she could give us all one everlasting word of advice, I know it would be, “never let your fears crush your dreams because there’s no day but today”.

-Gab