I have the best people in my life that I could ask for...
So today was it...one year since we lost one of us...and such an important one of us. I was sitting here at this house tonight...this house that she loved and wanted so much to live in, and looking around at these people who she loved and who loved her in return and it felt like there was such a hole there, but at the same time, it felt right that we were all there because of her. You know, she changed all of us and touched all of our lives and all the people who were here tonight mean the world to me. Seeing everyone together again was weird but at the same time amazing. And Katie, even in her death, was able to bring us all together again. Couples who have broken up, friends who have fought, those who have just parted ways, and people whose paths hadn't even crossed before this day last year were here tonight, and it was so right...and at the same time so wrong. But I take heart knowing that what she said was true, that everything does happen for a reason, and I saw that in these people who sat in my living room tonight...this living room that was supposed to be her living room. She touched all of us and she did what she was supposed to do. She taught us all some amazing lessons, and she was done with her work long before most of us even have any clue what our work is to be. So she was taken from us. But she lives on in all of us, in our hearts, and most importantly, in our memories...so even though Katie was only here for 19 years, I have to believe she is in a better place now, somewhere far away from the pain of this world. And although she will never get to become that amazing adult she could have been, she was amazing in her life and continues to be amazing even after it. So Katie, know that you were loved and you are still loved, and don't be mad at us for getting sad every now and again. You are truly missed...