Valentine's Day | One Year Ago

I get a call. From my dad. Mid-morning. He never calls at the time. I immediately felt anxious and apprehensive and his voice when he spoke his first words to me confirmed the fear I was feeling inside. He preceded to tell me, through a choked voice, that my big sister, Linda (Linny) was in the hospital and that they thought she had leukemia. Life for her, for her kids, for my dad, my mom, my oldest sister, my family, changed from. that. point. on. She would, in the following weeks, move forward with nothing but a positive, "I'm tougher than a brick s___thouse" attitude. She won over the hearts of ALL of the hospital staff. Cards came pouring in to the amount that the staff was like, "We've never had such a popular patient." It wasn't surprising at all to those of us who loved her. She made everyday fun. Everyday full of laughter. She radiated goodness. And her positive attitude and radiant spirit found her with a diagnosis of "cancer free" on Friday March 25. Her celebratory party short-lived as she passed away to be an angel in the wee hours of March 29; dying from pneumonia as a result of having no immune system.

A year later, I am still grieving. Still sad. But hopeful. There are more happy days now than in the past. There are still frequent tears and sadness for the memories that won't be made with her in them. But I keep moving forward, we keep moving forward, knowing full well in my (our) heart, that she wants us ALL to be happy, for us ALL to love. For us ALL to live. life. to. the. fullest.

I made a layout today in her memory.
The journaling is tucked behind the photo.

Happy Valentine's Day to you. Please do what Linny would want for us all to do.
Go Live. Go Laugh. Go Love.