Dear Erik, Today is Easter and I miss you dearly. You who taught me to love you even though I knew our time together was finite. You taught me to reach out beyond myself and explore the world of dog parks, making friends with strangers, visiting new horizons, and traveling across North America in a car - just the two of us. When you ascended to heaven I grieved (and still do). My anxious heart couldn't save you. My worries about spending enough time with you and anxiously wondering if I cared enough for you wasn't able to fight what ailed you. My love wasn't enough to keep you here on Earth. Your soul went to heaven and I knew then as I know now that you look down on me making sure I still live my life to the fullest. You set me on many paths when you were alive by my side and have done the same within my heart after you went to heaven. I have so much to thank you for. I'm so fortunate to have known such a beautiful soul. I miss you so much. I love you so much. Thank you for teaching me so much and giving me the gift of living through your death; to appreciate sniffing every flower, enjoy laying in the sun, love to drive and admire the landscape, and walk enjoying every experience. I wait for the day I finally get to meet you across the Rainbow Bridge