This past week, we reflected upon Kevin's lifetime with us and marked the first anniversary of his passing. To those of you who attended his Celebration of Life last Sunday, thank you so much for making it exactly as he would have wished. Yes, there were a few tears, but as he hoped, there was plenty of laughter and more than one tall tale - including some I had forgotten about! Thank you for making his family feel so welcome in Minnesota and for sharing your stories. These nuggets will help us keep his memory alive in our hearts for the rest of our days.

As for me ... the love and support from my family and friends, coupled with my memories and the unavoidable passage of time, is helping me to integrate my loss. Perhaps the best way for me to honor my time with Kevin is to get out there and start actively living again. I am comforted by knowing exactly what he would say ... it was a quote from Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut Wally Schirra, on the loss of the crew of Apollo 1: "You're sad. You mourn the loss. But you don't wear the black armband forever." Kevin turned to those words after struggling with the loss of several close friends. I now understand why.

This will be my final Caring Bridge post. Everything Kev and I could do, we did. All the love we had, we gave. We didn't do everything perfectly, but we did the best we could. 

Thank you for sharing our journey.

Love,

Kaye