Remembering Shelley Five Years Later

Five years.  It's really hard to believe it's been five years since my wife and best friend Shelley passed away.  She took her last breath as I held her in my arms at 7:10 pm on Friday, February 17th, 2012.  You don't forget a moment like that.  You never forget the most important person in your life.

There's not a day that I don't think about her.  There's not a day that I don't miss her.  I miss her humor.  I miss her intelligence.  I miss the way she smiled whenever she saw me.  I miss her laugh.

I miss the way she loved me.  She loved me like no one could ever love someone else.  And I loved her back the same way.

In the days and weeks after she passed I just couldn't imagine life without her.  We were a pair that were lucky enough to have found each other and we were about as perfect a couple as there could be.

I keep a lot of what I feel about those dark days when Shelley was ill bottled up inside of me.  It's not anything people really want to hear about.  I prefer to think about who she was and the difference she made in the lives of so many kids.  She was an incredible teacher who was gifted in the way she was able to reach her students.  And it's such a coincidence that as I quietly observe the anniversary of her passing our radio station is raising money to benefit sick kids at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

With the incredible success we've had in our Country Cares radiothon, I just know Shelley is smiling down on us.  She would have been so proud of not only our efforts at WYRK, but proud of the generosity of people in Western New York and our friends in Canada as well.

So on this day when I really should be sad, I'm smiling along with Shelley.  Smiling because just as important as the doctors and researchers working at St. Jude, all of us working hard to raise money to support their efforts are just as important.

I'm smiling because I know the work at St. Jude is having an impact on the lives of sick kids right now and will save the lives of countless kids in the future.  On behalf of Shelley and all of us at WYRK, thank you so very much for your generosity and love.