Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Sad Day

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That is my boss Charlie and his wife Anne and their daughter Gwei Gwei. This picture was taken last year at our wedding on 12-26-12. Anne passed away last week on 4-4-13 after a 10 month battle against lung cancer.

It was a difficult afternoon and past few days.

I spent the afternoon with Gwei, or I should say Gwei spent it with us, or more specifically with Ally and her babysitter Lauren. For a variety of reasons it was best that Gwei not be at home and so she and I went for a walk and she asked what Ally was doing. So we walked to our house (a few blocks away) and before I knew it she was eating a snack and coloring with Ally. As her dad commented – its amazing where one finds comfort and security.

After a while Gwei’s dad came and picked her up and they walked home to their house together. We asked Ally to sit down and were going to try and explain what had happened, and as we started she told us that Gwei had told her “my mom died today” it a way it was heartbreaking and in many ways that was probably really very good that Ally heard it from Gwei and not us. Ally has been ok with it all and seems to understand. She has been aware of the situation for quite some time now and as we know, Ally is quite mature for her age. Becky and I are keeping a close eye on her and are ready to talk if she wants to.

It was a sad day and it is a sad time.

But there is always some joy with Ally around:

Our family has been happy to provide support to our friends during this difficult time, and we will continue to be there for them in whatever way we can.

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This is the picture she worked on that day. A river of rainbows. And on the right is the back – where for the first time ever Ally wrote out her full name.

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