Hi Lee,

I lit a candle on the main page in honour of your birthday. I know you're watching over your family but I still do like to write every now and again. I hope as Olivia gets older she will write more of her own messages to you on here.

Olivia is doing very well. She is going for a play date today at her friend Dustin's house and her friend Alyssa will be going too. She is practicing a monologue from "Anne of Green Gables" for the Sackville Music Festival in May. They have solo speeches and she wants to compete!

She and I have planned her 8th birthday already. She is having a Hawaiian luau themed party but she also wants her art teacher, Sadie Jane, to come and do a painting lesson with her and 8 of her friends, so it will be Hawaiian themed too. I am booking a room at a local church for May 25th and then having an actual family party at my Mom's on the 26th.

Benjamin is doing very well. He just started attending an after school compuer club and he's also into yoga and Zumba of all things! He has made some friends and his teacher is actually a long time family friend who taught ME as a student teacher in grade 1 and was a substitute for Olivia at her old school. She also used to live with me when I was young and now we're close. I think it's good for Ben to have someone we know and trust as a teacher.

Brian's been managing the pet store for almost a year and is doing very well. You'd be proud. He is handling things like a pro, recently had to fire and hire and is really showing his skills. He always said it's what he wanted to do and his only regret is that you were here to see him achieve it.

Happy Birthday, Lee.

~Abbe

Dear Lee,

It has now been over a year since you passed and a lot has changed. We now live in a different province, a nice little town, Brian is doing very well managing the store and Olivia just started grade 2! Ben is now in school and is thriving as well. We have a house with gorgeous apples trees all around. Olivia is making friends and is very happy. She talks about you often and she often cries but she says it helps. I made her a collage for her bedroom on her birthday and she loves the photos of you with her. She keeps your memory alive and often talks about the games you would play on the phone. I know it's hard for her and Brian but I think they need to know you're around them more than ever right now. Please just give them a sign. I tell them how proud you are. I know you are. You wanted Brian to do well. He was in the CCA program when you passed and he was doing well-top of his class-but then he got this job and it's so natural. He's doing so well. I am amazed since he walked in with no experience but he loves animals and it make sense. The business management seemed to come naturally-maybe from your father? I know it's in his blood. He just runs things so smoothly and he and Olivia go to breakfast on his days off. They went to Cora's this morning. I know you liked Cora's too. Just know we think about you all the time. I don't know why I find it so hard to think about you passing, but I do and I wish you were here for your children and grandchildren's sakes. Grandma Lee was very loved and still is.

Dear Lee,

I knew you for almost 8 years. We've been through many trials and tribulations. You treated me like you did your own children. I felt like family, not just a daughter-in-law. If you had something you felt strongly about, be it positive or negative, you would tell me. Often I wouldn't understand why you said certain things, but upon reflection, I realize it's simply because you cared.

You cared for me, for my husband (of course) and our children. You and Olivia were very close and had a very strong bond despite the distance between all of us. You would play silly games with her on the phone, you would send thoughtful presents, you would be thrilled with all of her accomplishments and she would be excited to tell you about her day.

You constantly pressed the issue about Brian finding a job, finding something and sticking with it, getting more schooling, and guess what? He is! He will make you proud. He has finally found something that he enjoys doing and is damn good at it too. He has many flaws but you still loved him and he knows it.

Thank you for putting me in my place. Thank you for talking to me, for sharing your thoughts, for asking for my opinion, for the chats we would have about really nonsensical things. I miss your calls. I miss your quirky stories. You were such a huge presence in our lives and now there is a hole. I hope you are in Heaven, watching your children and grandchildren and know how much you are loved.

~Abbe