A good friend of mine who went through this journey 5 years ago has been helping me immensely. She suggested I make a list of all the things I missed about my Lil Bear. My original list was over a hundred long. The she told me to make a version with no more than 50 items. Then she said to make a list of ten. It was one of the hardest things I had done because I had to relive the memories in order to pare it down to 10, but in the end I felt good, focused on the things that were unique and joyful about our lives. I share it here with you (and encourage at least those of you in the early stage, like me, to try it).

I miss our waking up at 6:30am and snuggling under the covers till 7, every day.
I miss dancing in the kitchen.
I miss your praise, your encouragement and your understanding.
I miss the privilege of treating you like a queen on Mothers day and your birthday.
I miss spending the day fishing on some shore with you, whether we caught fish or not.
I miss having someone finish my sentences for me.
I miss getting to make you happy and not having to worry about my happiness.
I miss taking care of you, and you taking care of me.
I miss your laugh, your smile, your hugs, your kisses.
I miss you, I miss us, I miss me