My brother's incredible gift...

In less than a month, my brother will have been gone for a year. It's incredible, really, that he's been gone this long. At first, I lamented the fact that it was him that had to go. I told my mom it should have been me; after all, Matthew was in medical school, had touched more lives than I could count, and was a brilliant, loving individual. I could claim no such things. But then something happened: I realized life is not so much short (as people love to say) as it is fleeting. It's not guaranteed; it is here one minute and gone the next. We must make the absolute most of the life we have. We must have the courage to live the life that is meant for us. In losing Matthew, I became aware that not only was I living a life that was not my own, but that living that way was killing my spirit. Matthew, upon dying, gave me a truly amazing gift: the courage to get up and walk into the life that was meant for me. His gift was twofold--when I embraced the path that I was meant to walk, I found the traveling companion I had spent a lifetime searching for. I can never thank my brother enough for giving me both my life and the love of my life.