[Laurel]

Loving Marie,

You are just letting go. It is a very natural human response and a way of preparing yourself for what appears to be looming on the horizon. I hear a woman releasing her best friend into the next life, not because she wants him to leave her, but because he has fought the good fight and now his body is weary. You are looking into that cloudy future that seems dismal, gray, empty, and lonely. While it is frightening you instinctively know it must be faced to reach a new dawn. This is all a natural part of grieving. I hear a woman who is reaching the end of a long good-bye, not by choice but by the callous circumstance of cancer. Guilt, anger, and despair are all common emotions in life's darkest moments.

None of these feelings mean you have given up hoping, praying for a miracle.

Whatever befalls you in these next few weeks I know you will meet every new challenge with the dignity and grace that defines you, Marie. I also know that you will go on, because you must...for Ed.

And we will all be right here for you come what may....