December 14, 2017, was a life-changing day for my family in Michigan. Someone dear to our hearts passed away from a heart attack... my Keith.

Keith came into my life in 2009 shortly after my mom and dad had gotten a divorce. I was bitter towards him at first but, it was not his fault. Every little girl dreams of having her parents together but, after I got over myself years later, we became really good buddies.

Stepparents deserve more than that. They are the people who step up in your life when you need them the most. They take you in as their own child and love you unconditionally. Keith would take me to figure skating practices, school events, meetings, etc. He rarely ever referred to me as his stepchild, my sisters and I were his girls.

I can't wrap my head around why this would happen to us? Someone who was a healthy man at his age lost his life way too soon. Why did this happen to my mom? So many unanswered questions.

I started to lose interest in things I was doing every day. I did not want to go to school, work, ice skating. I couldn't face everyone who was trying to give their condolences. It was too hard. I started doing badly in school. Unintentionally, of course, but I could not focus in class or study at home. All I could think about was how Keith would not be at my graduation, ice show, or move me into university in the fall.

People stopped talking about him as much as they had been. He would only come up every once in a while. It really bothered me because I thought about him every day. Everyone moved onto the next breaking news story and I hadn't moved on yet.

Nobody expects you to still be upset because he "wasn't my real father" but, he was everything to me. I feel so guilty for not calling him Dad or telling him how much he meant to me. He deserved to hear that every day.

During ice show time, three months after, I was very depressed. The rink really reminded me of Keith even though it was usually my place to get away. The rink was where Keith volunteered a lot of his time. He loved to make props and watch me skate.

He rocked. The years will get harder as more things come into my life that I wanna tell him about. I wish he could be at my graduation, wedding and spend time with my future children.

I am forever grateful for my teachers who understood what I was going through and why I wasn't doing as well as I could have been. Thank you to my boss who let me stay home from work and to the women who dedicated the ice show to my Keith. I know he is watching me above through everything. That's what stepparents do... they're there for you.