(Talking in terms of YEARS, now, rather than DAYS. Counter-intuitive, I know.)

Beautiful Baby Sister,

How the tears come less loyally now!! (Already?)

*The look of my life from here on out, now that it's without you:

Year.	Years You Aren't.	Years Gone.	Years I Am.	Life.
2010	21	0	26	Law School & Sadness
2011	22	1	27	Law School
2012	23	2	28	Pass the Bar
2013	24	3	29	Work
2014	25	4	30	Work & Sadness
2015	26	5	31	Pay Off School Debt
2016	27	6	32	Become Foster Parent
2017	28	7	33	Work and Foster
2018	29	8	34	Work and Foster
2019	30	9	35	Work, Foster, Sadness
2020	31	10	36	Write a Book
2021	32	11	37	Write & Travel
2022	33	12	38	Write & Travel
2023	34	13	39	Write & Travel
2024	35	14	40	Write, Travel, Sadness
2025	36	15	41	Retire, So On and So Forth, Eventually Die.

What do you think, baby girl? I'm just so afraid of living without you for any longer than I got to live with you...*

So, 21 years from now: I'll be 47 (almost as old as mama and dadda are today...). That's pretty freakin' good if you ask me! I've decided that I'll make it that far if I'm given the option. Of course, you would have been 42 at that point, had you lived...the age that I always used to think of as officially "old". And all the while, years had nothing to do with it. (Though I always thought that I already knew that.)

-L (12/7/10)