Today is Dec 8

Today is Dec 8.  On this day, my sister and me are the same age.

But she has been in an urn some 18 years now.  Her life destroyed by cocaine and alcohol.   To her children, she served as an example how drugs have consequences beyond the immediate victim.

Of her children, she would be proud. From adversity, each one has blazed their own path into the world—razing a little hell along the way. Each has carved out a life marked by resilience, courage, and success.

Tracy Lynn Gardocki, 1977

They are innovators, dreamers, and doers. They have built careers, families, and legacies that speak to the strength instilled in them. And while their journeys were not without hardship, they carried forward the lessons of perseverance and the spirit of independence that defined their upbringing.

 Yes, she would be proud, as are we all.