Too often have there been times when "I love Yous" and "Thank Yous" go unsaid. Far too often, when it's too late, we express love and gratitude to those who have come into our lives and made us better. Our heroes aren't only the seven painted on primary school walls and printed on our money. Today, there are everyday heroes walking among us.

Who, today, are your heroes? Do they know what they have meant to you and how they have changed your life? Do you assume they know, or have you told them?

My mother is a given - my tower of strength and perpetual cheerleader. She is my hero. In fact, I have had the good fortune of having many heroes in my life, but none so great as my cousins.

The good Lord in his infinite wisdom saw it fit to give me the gift of a beautiful family. I am Aarons by name, but Hague by nature. The man from whom my family got that name died before I was but a thought; however, the principles he and his lady of a wife taught their children, and, by extension, their grandchildren, will carry on with time. They are my heroes.

Calvin and Bernice Hague had three children: Jacqueline, and twins Paul and Paulette. The three Hague children bore five Hague grandchildren : Sasha-Leigh, Javier, Patria-Kaye, Donya Gay, and Shomarc.

I feel moved to publicly declare my love for the Hague cousins, whose marks on my life have made me ME.

Sash, distance means nothing to our love. You've taken on the world headfirst, and though we are separated by continents and seas, our bond is strong. Your ability to live and love is unmatched, and I live vicariously through your adventures. You've blessed me with a trove of precious memories, and I look forward to every chapter of your life.

Javier, I love you like a brother. I am so proud of the man that you have become. I've watched you grow and have seen the wonder of a boy always wanting to fix things transform into a career where you do just that. You are your father's son: quiet confidence, loyal, patient, and kind. You are who a true man should be, and I have been only too lucky to call you cousin and friend.

Diggy, my love for you is fierce and protective. You've been my little cousin my whole life, and I have always felt the need to shelter you from the ills of the world. That will never change. You will always be my little cousin, and I will always be here to fix things, to make you laugh, to take the pain away, to kick the butts of those who dare cross your path. With every milestone you achieve, I celebrate that success as if it were my own. You make me very proud.

Shomarc, I love you as if you were my own child. Life has thrust more responsibility upon you than you deserve, and you have shouldered it like a gentleman. You're headstrong and opinionated and hip, and I just love it! Continue to grow with confidence and conviction, believing in yourself and the better world you can create. And know that I would give my life for your joy. You are my motivation.

One by one, members of my beautiful family are going on to make their own beautiful families, and it fills my eyes with tears and my heart with more love than it can hold. I feel old, and overjoyed, and blessed.

Thanks for the laughter and memories and support and dinners and the board games and late nights and the stories and Christmases. I will work to make you happy and live to make you proud.

Thanks for the unconditional love and for being my very own heroes.

- Patria-Kaye Aarons is a television presenter and confectioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com [3] and findpatria@yahoo.com [4], or tweet @findpatria.