Dear Darkwing:

You can shed tears that he is gone,

or you can smile because he has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,

or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,

or you can be full of the love he gave.

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,

or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him only that he is gone, 

or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,

be empty and turn your back.

Or you can do what he'd want:

smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

-david harkins

It's crazy how five years can simultaneously pass so quickly, and yet so slowly.  Five years ago tonight, my mom, sisters, extended family, and I lost the greatest man I was ever lucky enough to know.  In honor of his memory, I try to smile even when I'd rather not, I try to take each day and truly enjoy being able to experience it, and I try to live better and love others and be happy for every moment.  

I think that being faced with our own mortality and with such a significant loss, we can choose one of two paths:  the easier: to feel self pity and to wallow and never let the wound begin to heal, or the more challenging: to accept life for the trials that it hands us, and to live a stronger and more passionate life because of it. 

Here's to you, Dad (who my little sister and I fondly dubbed "Darkwing Daddy"...yes, like the duck cartoon), the greatest man of my life, and to all that you have taught me through your life and, consequently, through your passing.