A thought from Aunt Pat:

So... it has been 3 weeks and 1 day since Emily left us. This is what I was doing 3 weeks and 2 days ago - It was a Monday night and I was going about my usual routine of tidying up the clutter of the day before going to bed. So I see the new air pump for the aquarium that we just bought and I decide to go ahead and set it up then and there. (there is a point to this...trust me) So I'm all contorted on the floor in front of the aquarium, reaching around the back for the air hose and there at eye level on one of the shelves is the "leaf picture" ... (It's one of the pictures in your slide show, Melissa...) So there I am sitting on the floor and pausing to remember the day it was taken. The laughter. The giggles... I was focusing on Emily, sitting in the middle of that leaf pile, looking up at Melissa with such joy... Now - fast forward to several days later, while I'm trying to process the terrible, no, devastating news. I suddenly remember looking at that picture. That picture has been displayed in various places in my house for the last 16 years. I have glanced at it on occasion, but that Monday night I took more time than just a glance... (okay - the point of this finally!) So the thought that keeps nagging at me is why did I reminisce about that then? Was something or someone giving me something to hold onto to help me through an event I wasn't even aware of yet? I don't know... So if it was a message, I can only think that it was telling me to focus on the joy. Which is helping. Little steps, little steps...