June 2026 Newsletter 

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Hello All,

This is my first newsletter, and I want to begin by thanking you for signing up. I hope I'll make it interesting enough that you'll continue to follow along on this journey with me.

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As I write this, I'm on my way home from visiting my second daughter, her husband, and my four-year-old grandchild in North Carolina. While, I was standing in line at the airport waiting to board my flight. I noticed I was standing between a man and a woman.

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I turned to the woman and asked, "Are you with him?"

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She nodded.

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I quickly excused myself, saying that I didn't want to split anybody up.

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The husband immediately replied, "Nobody can split us up."

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To him, the words were simple and casual, spoken almost protectively. But to me, they pierced my heart. Those were the kind of words I believe Pat ❤️ would have said if he had been standing there. Five little words that reflected something deep I once had—and still miss.

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"Nobody can split us up" wasn't just about standing together in a boarding line. It spoke of unity, certainty, belonging, and permanence. Hearing a husband defend his place beside his wife reminded me of the kind of bond Pat and I shared.

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What I felt wasn't really jealousy. I was happy for them. What I felt was longing. I envied the connection they still had because I knew exactly what it felt like to belong so completely to someone that even strangers could see it.

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Standing there in that boarding line, I felt the familiar ache of missing what I once had. For just a moment, I yearned for that togetherness again—that quiet certainty of knowing someone was always beside me.

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Love leaves footprints on our hearts. Even after loss, those footprints remain. Sometimes they appear when we least expect them—in an airport boarding line, in a stranger's words, or in a fleeting moment that takes us back to a love we will always carry with us.

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Book News

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The audiobook version of It Wasn't Supposed to Last  is in its final stages of production. I narrated the book myself, and I'm especially excited that Pat's letters are being voiced by narrator Joe James. Hearing those letters come to life has been a moving experience for me, and I can't wait to share it with my listeners. I hope to have more news on the release very soon.