Death. The dictionary defines death as the end of the life of a person or organism. But we define death a little bit differently. Everyone thinks about death in different ways, some say it's a happy time and others say it's the worst moments of our lives. I would have to say that I'd define death as the beginning, not the end. Although we feel like it's the end of all endings.

Death is a part of life, yes. It happens every day, yes. It happens to the ones we love... our friends and family, yes.

We all know it's going to happen sooner or later, but no matter how or when death happens, it hits you like a brick wall. You never expect it to be someone you know, someone you call a friend. To someone so young with the world at their fingertips. To those not so young, someone who still had a lot of living left to do. Even to those who had lived a full life, done and seen it all... it still hurts when they are gone. It still feels like they left this world far too soon.

So to the ones who left us too soon, we miss you. We miss you so bad it hurts sometimes, the memories of you come rushing back and it takes a toll on us. We wonder why it had to be you, why God had to take you away from us... knowing how we would react. How can we live in a world that you're no longer in? We're furious. We're miserable. We're depressed. Nothing makes sense in this new world. Our "normal" isn't quite normal anymore, everything is just different. Sad isn't a strong enough word to define what we are feeling.

We also envy you, though. You were lucky enough to make it to everlasting life sooner than the rest of us. You're walking with the angles now, in no pain, forever happy, and getting to spend time with those loved ones that made it there before you... how lucky is that. God noticed how you were one of the good ones and just had to have you to himself, can't really blame him for that.

Although we feel like you should be here with us, we know where you are now is a far better place to be. Because of that, we are happy... even if there is a sense that something is missing down here.

To the ones who left us too soon, I want to thank you. Thank you for happening into our lives... whether you knew it or not, you made a lasting impact. Thanks for being the person that you were. Thanks for caring. Thanks for being kind. And thanks for leaving us with a smile.

We miss you.