"If you ever met her, she was your friend forever!" Thank you to all the kind, gracious friends and caregivers that supported mom over these challenging last few years: Dear mom, I wanted to write you a letter to express myself and how we all feel. The last 10 years has had its challenges since daddy left us, especially the last 4.5 years, but for the next few moments my focus is on your life. Sheri, Mark, and I may not have realized it, but we won the "proverbial" lottery at birth. We won the lottery because we had you and dad as parents. You gave us life and then you gave us every ounce of energy you could muster right until the end! For the values and life lessons we will be eternally grateful! Indulge me as I mention a few of the values and life lessons you shared with us, and we teach our children: You taught us love You taught us kindness You taught us passion You taught us work ethic (and how to go on strike) You truly met people "where they are" - all people You taught us not to judge You taught genuineness and authenticity