I sit here looking at Mari’s picture. I see her school picture from last October. It has only been a little over a year since her last fall school picture. I still have most of our pictures that had been up on the wall in our other house still in boxes from the move but her school picture that was taken on the Wednesday before Easter this past year is in there too. Just think, right now it is like she is still growing up. They are recent. They still seem new. Yet think about how it will be in 5 years from now. 10 years. Even 20 years from now. They will eventually become a distant memory. It will be like she never grows up and will forever remain 8 ½ years old. My brain cannot grasp this concept that my daughter will never grow up. She will never be will us again. I look at our fireplace mantel and just wish she could be here again. I miss her so much.

Her smile is unforgettable. Her laugher is infectious. Her hugs are immeasurable. And her presence is forever with us. Mari will always be with us but only in spirit. It is her special spirit. It is the one that makes you smile when you see something that reminds you of her. It is the one that makes you cry when you realize how much you truly miss her being here on this earth with us. Her spirit lives on while our hearts are broken and long to be with her again someday.

Thank you Mari for teaching us so much. We love you and miss you more than you could ever know.

Mari's Last School Photo, taken right before her last Easter