For a precious brief moment, I found clarity. I rose above heartache, loss, shame, rejection, betrayal,and confusion and saw the beauty of imperfection. Wholesomely I appreciated being human and vulnerable. In waves, the pain will come and go. Sometimes I will miss you more than I can bear, sometimes I will be distracted by life’s mundane things-laundry, homework, a friend’s birthday party… it is true-sometimes I will not remember you. And it is this mixed bowl; the good days, the not-so- good and the can’t get out of bed because I miss your face days…that reminds me that I am alive. It reminds me to take every chance I get to smile, to appreciate every good laugh…to let myself cry when I need to, to be generous with my hugs and with my love…

Yes, to love with all my heart, with holding none for another day. Because now we both know that we don’t always get another day.