HI! Brand new spring and summer greeting cards and invitations are now for sale! Head on over to the shop to check them out!

This quote totally speaks to me in all the right ways, especially this week. I also love this photo, which captures the home of some special trinkets that remind me of our dear friend Caitlin. The bracelet they lived on broke years ago, and in fear of losing them, I now keep them safe on this antique dish. Someday I may reassemble it and give it a more prominent home around my wrist.

In honor of this week, I have a super special announcement coming out very soon to my newsletter subscribers! It will feature a sneak peek of my new spring + summer greeting cards AND a presale for one special card, which I designed with Caitlin and good friends everywhere in mind.

The newsletter will go out soon, so if you aren’t on the list, hop on now before it’s too late! The presale will be for a limited time only, so once you’re on the list, make sure you watch your inbox for details. [The link will take you to a signup page, then an email will be sent to you to confirm your subscription, to prove you're not a robot. Super easy!]

Happy Spring, everyone! Despite sometimes wildly despairing times, I have to agree that just being alive is truly grand.

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This month, this week, this day, April 16th, is a bittersweet kind of time. April is a time of rebirth. Spring is here, flowers bloom, grass grows, tulips greet the sun, trees welcome us with bright green leaves and tiny blooms (and pollen bombs). People seem to emerge. There are festivals, outdoor brunches, more people running, walking, playing outside. There are happy birthdays, anniversaries, engagements. But there is some sadness – a heaviness – to everything, and apparently, the years don’t make the pain lessen.

These past few days I’ve carried memories of those last few days with me. The time kind of replays itself in my head as I live my current life. This was what I was doing – I should have been doing THIS, but I wasn’t. This was when I was freaking out about Econ extra credit.This was when we knew nothing. This was when we were collectively in denial. This was when we cried, and ran barefoot (in snow flurries) through campus to find out for sure. This was when people couldn’t walk past her room. This was when friends said, “IF…I can’t take it.” This was when we stared at each other in disbelief.

But then, it’s almost like every moment is a “this was when.”

It has been six years since “that day” in 2007 when 32 Hokies were stripped of their right to live on and make dreams come true. One of the difficult parts for me is reflecting on what I’ve done with these last six years, and especially when this time of the year comes around, I question. Am I doing good things? Am I making something of myself? Am living enough? Could I be better? More? What would SHE be doing? I know she wouldn’t be nearly as lazy as I tend to be. I want to fix it – for her and for me. It feels like she would smirk and shake her head.

It’s not just sad that some guy went nuts, and took from us a very special group of people. It’s that, six years later we have grown and done things, and they never will. Our friend, Caitlin (so hard to type and say her name out loud! Why, I wonder?) is a timeless beauty in my mind. “So much potential,” people said (and still say). It hurts to think about that. “Potential” is a double edged sword. I look at her picture and see her big bright smile. I hear her laughter. I think of the extra special memories of that semester and the semester before. I see photos of her with her closest friends, sorority sisters, parents, bffs, and it is still heartbreaking 6 years later.

I love that Virginia Tech continues to honor and remember. Now, there are no current students (or so few students) that were there for “that day.” But still, 8,000 of them show up to run. The Big Event was bigger than ever this year. Hokie Relay for Life continues to set records and raise insane amounts of money for a good cause. And we still talk about her (and all of them) to keep the memory alive.

I guess that’s what is best. Keep the memory alive. The 32 aren’t here anymore, but we can talk about them, remember her laughter, remember that time when she helped us solve a problem, when we did the Elaine dance together, when we made fun of silly boys who thought holding hands was weird, when we were going to catch up – but tomorrow, after class, because studying was important (and tomorrow never came). We carry their hearts – we carry them in our hearts! And I like to think I honor her and them with my life. One more group to make proud. To honor. To push us to be better citizens, Hokies, professionals, sisters, brothers, daughters. Just to be better and do better.

And maybe, stop being so lazy. Today I’ve taken off work to kind of relish life. I’m lucky to be able to do this, I realize. I’m looking forward to filling the day with things that make me happy, phone calls to my Hokie family who I can’t hug (hugs to you! And you! All of you!), and possibly some fro-yo. I shall wear my Hokie colors proud. I shall continue to work towards my dreams and goals – because I don’t want to waste my chance! I see no better way to celebrate great lives lost than to make life – mine and those I love – the best and fullest and happiest they can be.

If you see a Hokie today, give them a smile. If you KNOW a Hokie, give them a hug. And actually, in light of the sadness in Boston yesterday, how about we all just give each other a big Hokie hug? The world could use a bit more love, and nothing beats the love of a Hokie.

Today is all about my Hokies for me. I hope you and yours are safe and away from the madness happening in Boston.