Five Years On…

A long overdue hello to Family and Friends near and far. We truly hope you are all well and healthy and happy. Today is a somber anniversary, marking 5 years since Heather moved on into the next Plane of Being. It’s so damn hard to wrap my head around the passing of that much time and all that has happened since. I had promised Heather to keep this blog updated from time to time and got lovingly scolded by Abby recently for a lack of posting anything. Watching our girls mature and grow, excel in school and everything else, makes me so very proud to be their Dad.

Most of you know that our family has grown, that we were blessed to be connected with my amazing and loving partner Nicole and her three wonderful children. A 21st Century Brady Bunch. Our mutual friend Amanda, mentioned in many of Heather’s posts here, eventually put two and two together. Or more accurately, three and four! She knew that Nicole and I would be perfect for each other, after everything we had both been through, and yup, we’ve been together ever since.

Nicole and the kids moved in with the girls and I less than two weeks before the COVID lockdown began; her kids barely had a week in the school system before we were all quarantined together! Of course there were challenges, but nothing that love and laughter couldn’t handle, and we all thrived together. As a friend of mine mentioned at the time, it sounded like we had the least boring house in all of lockdown – and it definitely was. We essentially lived in permanent summer camp mode with Penny Boards, soccer, a foozball table we found on the side of the road, Nicole’s giant trampoline, never-ending inside jokes, baking, crafts, arts, and house and garden projects. Not to mention our menagerie of dogs (Rosalee & Marley), cats (Pumpkin & Duby), fish, and Dex the bearded dragon!

There have been some tough times too. We lost Nicole’s beloved Mom two summers ago, another shitty, untimely loss to cancer. And my dear Mom passed away this past Christmas at 87 after a challenging few months. She is now finally at rest with my Dad at Arlington National Cemetery. They are all so missed.

All of us miss Heather deeply and take every chance we can to honor her and her memory. We feel her blessing us and shining down on our family every day. She lives on through all of us and all of you.

A huge, heart-felt thank you to each and every one of you for all of your love and support in the past, present, and future. Big Love to All. More to come – I promise 🙂