Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of one of my best friends.  He was my biggest supporter and the person who understood me better than anyone in the world; a kindred spirit in every sense of the word.  While the pain of grief eventually dulls it never completely subsides and you never stop missing that absent piece of you.

Instead of focusing on the memory of the moment I found out the news that would change so many lives and the devastating days that followed, I choose to focus on the love and strength he left behind.  He is never far from my side…I see him in black and brown butterflies, in a stranger calling me by the nickname only he used, in the sight of an orange baseball cap from afar.  I hold him close to me as I journey through life, hoping that I can make him proud and experience all the world has to offer for the both of us.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die.

– Mary Elizabeth Frye

The summer camp where our friendship and love first grew.

I love you and miss you BNB.  I’ll always be your kiddo.