On The Road to Thoughts From My Heart
/June 15th, 2025. The date snuck up on me and sent me reeling. It has been a particularly difficult day - not because it’s Father’s Day, which doesn’t have the same significance to me as Mother’s Day by any means, but because it was the day we were supposed to have Sara and DJ’s wedding ceremony.
Sara’s hanukkah card 2024
Yes, they were married in my backyard last year, with a small and intimate ceremony, so Sara would be recognized as a military wife, but the big wedding and celebration was set for June 15th.
Sara’s wedding gown
The thing that people don’t realize when you lose a child, especially an only child, is that you also lose a part of your identity as a parent. Not only are you grieving the loss of that child, but the loss of that child’s future.
Sara’s 29th Birthday
On this day in particular, everything reminds me of Sara. As I drive past Culver’s I think of her dipping her chicken tenders in her milkshake! How long into adulthood would she have continued to do that?
First Culver’s Cooler of 2025
Music? That’s a no-brainer There are a bazillion songs that remind me of Sara, from songs I would sing to her as a lullaby, to songs we would use in our various videos - like the Pop-Up Barbie Cafe!
Sara truly was my Disney Girl! We would go to Walt Disney World every couple of years and she knew her way around like the back of her hand! She was my compass - kind of ironic for a former Traffic Anchor, lol!
Walt Disney World September 2019
I always thought I’d return to WDW with my grandchildren. Obviously that will never happen. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go to Disney World again. The pain would be unbearable.
Sara gets her own R2D2 at Star WArs WDW September 2019
Where would her career take her? Would she be an award-winning videographer, photographer or editor? Regardless, I know I would be so incredibly proud of her accomplishments.
Sara taking pictures in the mountains of albuquerque february 2023
As nearly impossible as it is to live without her, I know I must continue to keep her legacy alive. She was the most brilliant and creative artist I knew, in a variety of mediums. I just finished planting “Sara’s Garden” at her former middle school. There is a plaque on the back of one of the benches with her name and a QR code. That QR code will take you to her Legacy.com page, giving you all kinds of information about her life, her accomplishments and the memorial scholarship fund created in her name.
Sara’s Garden
Sara’s Garden dedication plaque
I have more plans in the works for fun and creative fundraising events to benefit Sara’s memorial scholarship fund. Fun and creative because that’s the way she would have wanted it. I will always love you more than the world, my baby girl.
Mall of america une 2023