7 long, devastating,exhilarating,empty,fulfilled,blurry,memorable years w/o you.I'll just come right out & say it,those random times I go from laughing to an absolute monumental meltdown;those nights I toss & turn & still recall so vividly the way you smelled;those damn episodes of Grey's Anatomy;those days I just have absolutely no idea which road is best for me & would give anything to hear your wisdom.Those moments aren't a sign of weakness; I know that now. Instead,those moments are a clear & direct reflection of the utterly amazing woman you were & just hard difficult it's going to be to ever,ever stop missing you.Guess which life change I would be the most excited to tell you?It would be graduating with my MBA that you were 'there' for.I will never forget how dad reacted,since I never see him get sentimental outside of when you and Missy passed away.He handed me a card & was so tickled & in a hurry for me to open it when my response was ‘dad,it’s just a flipping card, I’m sure it’s only money..relax’ but what I didn’t know is what I would find when I opened that card. I opened it& immediately started balling knowing exactly what that card was only to silently hear Marco Polo say “Your mother bought that for your freshman year at Ohio State..she had such high hopes for you & knew what potential & what a bright future you had ahead of you that she went out & bought a graduation card after we dropped you off at your dorm. Since she didn’t get the chance to see you graduate for undergrad I thought it was only proper that you have a piece of her here with you to celebrate one of your biggest accomplishments..” You have touched many lives mom & continue to do so.I love u,will always miss u,& will stay strong for as long as I am living for u.You showed me what true strength was.What fighting a battle looked like & even more so, what winning a battle looked like you continue to be my inspiration.

Lindsey Escaja
Columbus, OH