I wish I had known you when you were young.
I know it’s impossible to go back, but I wish I could have seen you then, to truly know you—in all your details and in all the glory of your perfect imperfectness.
To know your untainted essence. You were so full of awe and wonder then—how you loved to play and dance and laugh. Remember how silly you were? You delighted in life, in nature, in the changing of the seasons, and in each and every holiday. You would lie in bed and have trouble sleeping because you were so excited by what was yet to be. You always found the amazing in the mundane.
Seeing your photos and drawings, hearing stories and watching old family movies—I can see it so clearly; there is a magic about you. There always was. You inspire me to feel those younger years and those carefree days. You were so full of imagination and joy. Your smile could always light up any dark corner of the world. I can see you now, in my mind’s eye, beaming from ear to ear.