Sadly, I never got to meet you, but your presence has strongly impacted everyone you knew. Thus it evidently impacted me, even long after you passed. I hear stories about your goofy jokes and the way you used to dance. I see pictures of your beautiful smile and the radiant love you had to give.

Not meeting you has left me with unanswered questions, yet in those moments of confusion I suddenly realize I know you. I know you hoped for my parents to have me, and you prayed for me so dearly. I realize how strong you were by the way you raised the ones around me, and I can see how after all the years that you have been gone, you are still missed endlessly.

I take it as a compliment when I hear "you would have loved her," as if somehow the ones who know both of us are reminded of you when they are around me. I am brought to tears when I realize the love you could have brought me, but when I take a step back I understand that from heaven you have been watching over me.

There are times I get nervous, or times that I get scared, it as at those moments that I see you're always there. In times of sadness, and in times of joy, you are enduring everything with me and I cannot help but feel your presence by my side so clearly. The stories I hear of you bring me to tears, occasionally tears of emptiness and mostly tears of laughter. It is amazing that after all these years you are still living in many everyday. Your presence is missed by everyone, but cherished just as much, I know one day I will finally meet you and things will all add up.

It is with pride that I share the stories told to me with my friends who never knew you, I am proud to be just a part of you and take after you in some way. You said to always remember you, and that is what I aim to do, not only everyday but with every path I choose. On the important days that we celebrate you, like your birthday and the day you passed, I simply feel so warm and loved as I see the lives you touched and positively affected.

I wish I could have met you, but I know you wouldn't want me worrying on what could have been. So for now I will continue to ask about you to those who knew you back then. I will ask them how you spent your Sundays, how you liked to make your bed, I will even ask how you liked your eggs and hope that I secretly like mine the same. Because at the end of the day I am proud to be like you, even if it is simply just the little things.