This entry is for my "little" cousin, Terry:

I just wanted to let you know that I do read the things you write, and am somewhat watching your world from afar in between the times in which I am working and living out my own life and engaging in any other activities that I find myself caught up in. But what I wanted to express to you, which of course would not be likely expressed in one of our casual conversations, is that I am honestly so proud of who you've become. You're so articulate, expressive, sensitive, and I'd be so proud to have a daughter like you, just as I am proud to have you as my cousin. I am sure that since you have younger sisters and younger cousins you know what it's like to watch someone grow up...and I wish you truly understood how I feel, even though you may not think that I feel these things. I sense that you are searching for the thing or things that make you smile, that there is some emptiness that you can't seem to fill. And while I wish I had an answer, I don't. All I know is that you have to embrace the things that make you smile...because that's love. That's all we have, and that's all you have got to share in this life. So make it good, kiddo.