Happy Birthday Sandra

December 9th is my beautiful wife's 70th birthday.  Sandra and I have been married for 40 years and she is quite simply the finest human being I have ever met in my life.  Sandra is my role model and inspiration.  Sandra is the kind of person songs and poems are written about.  Her dedication and commitment to our special needs daughter, Ashley has kept her alive and well for 34 years.  Whenever I am, I speak about Sandra and Ashley.  Sandra is commitment, she is empathy, she is compassion, she is faith, she is unconditional love.

As I write this Sandra is comforting Ashley in Intensive Care.  Sandra has not left Ashley's bedside since we entered the hospital at 4:30am, December 3rd.  Ashley has pneumonia, she is intubated and on a ventilator.  I marvel at her strength and positivity.  She makes friends with every care giver in intensive care. No one gets away without being fully human. Sandra will love you until your walls melt. Sandra’s boundless energy brings bright light to everyone in the hospital.

Ashley continues to improve and Sandra continues to shine her light on Ashley, our family and everyone in her world. Sandra reminds me every day that the greatest among us are not the brilliant, not the most innovative or the wealthiest or most creative. The brightest lights in humanity are the kindest. Sandra shines her light through a beacon of kindness.