Rehtaeh would be 27 years old today. Yesterday I thought of how we always took her to her favourite restaurant in Halifax, Zen Cuisine, and she’d always order the lemon chicken. Before we moved to Toronto we went there in remembrance of her, it was a nice way to keep her close but it was sad to see the empty place where she would have sat.

I can’t help think of how that would look today. Would she be there with her own child, a grandchild for us to love and spoil?

I miss Rehtaeh and love her with all my heart. I always will. Today is here again and the best way I can spend it is to honour her with the beauty of being alive. I woke up this morning and watched the sun come up over the Sea of Cortez. I watched the fishing boats head out for a day of harvesting, as they do every morning, small boats filled with hope for a good catch. People and dogs walk along the beach, the sounds of a small town waking up fill the air.

Today I’m alive and the best way to remember those who passed on to the other side is to live life with passion and wonder. Life is beautiful, life is precious.

Life is worth living.

My wish for today is for you to have a day filled with the joy of being alive.