Quick note: my friend who died in June, the one that I wrote briefly about a few posts back, it would have been her 49th birthday on Jan 1. She was a New Year's Baby. If you met her, you would probably guess this as soon as you were introduced. She has that sort of energy about her. You'd say, "Yeah, of course you were born on the 1st day of the day." I'm sure she even got her picture in the local News Paper as a result. To which I say, Good for her!

So, yeah, this would be her family's first Christmas, New Year's, and birthday, all rolled into a single week, without her. I can't even imagine something like this. I don't know how they survived. It really is my worst nightmare come to life.

I raise a drink to you, Jodi. To you and your family and your massive community of friends and peers who legitimately will always miss you a great deal. Here's to you and the profound impact you had on everybody you ever met.