It has been 147 days since you left this earth and awoke in paradise. I miss you so much. I found this photo from one of our road trips. It’s an empty bench in a park near the Coon Rapids Dam. We stopped there one day to sit and watch the lake. In the distance there was walking/bike path where an occasional human form could be seen. We talked about our lives together. We reminisced about how we had grown so much since our days of dating in high school. Who knew that those days would turn into a lifetime filled with highs and lows, sickness and health, moments of disagreement, times of loss and times of success?

The bench is empty now. You are no longer here to share my sadness. You will not hold my wrinkled hand any longer. You will not encourage me when I need to press on. Your wit and laughter live on in my memories. The memories we made on those short road trips will be a constant reminder of the last year we had together.

My love for you will never die. Little things like that empty bench stir a sense of emptiness in my life now. Tears escape from my eyes as I remember. I know this is a temporary situation. Ours was a beautiful love story that will not soon be forgotten. I know that we will be together again. There is no doubt in my mind. For now, I grieve, but soon we will begin again.