And the Angel Danced and Cheered

It has been a while since I have posted. Mainly because life seemed to have gotten away from me.  Busy was just the tip of the iceberg...unexpected surprises both good and bad knocked at my door.

For two, a wake up call....and the message was clear, time to take a step back and reflect on my crazy  busy life. It is time to make some hard decisions about my career, my responsibilities close to home and those elsewhere.

This past Sunday our angel Kelly-Anne danced and cheered as her Concordia Stingers Rugby team kept the Kelly-Anne Cup at home with an amazing win over McGill. I felt bad for McGill as I knew  that they put their heart and soul into that game....for Kelly-Anne.

In recent  months I have been working alongside Concordia University to develop a Scholarship in Kelly-Anne's name to honor a deserving female Rugby player. How wonderful it was to announce the recipient this past Sunday.

Today, fifteen years ago Kelly-Anne was attacked. Her death, left us in a tailspin of disbelief, unimaginable grief and pain. There are days when I still can't believe she is gone.

Kelly-Anne's passing has changed and shaped me into a very different women than I was before. The biggest change for me was learning that I am able to face other personal important challenges that are actually very manageable. I have also learned to not fear the unknown, as I really do not have any control and have to place my confidence in God and others that will come in my path. I have already faced the biggest challenge of my life and that obviously was Kelly-Anne's death.

This past spring I learned as many others did, that here in Canada women are being murdered by their partner one every two and a half days. These stats are  terrible. What are we going to do as a society to stop this violence against women? Do we need to invoke the death  penalty once again ? Would that make a difference? Questions I  do not have the answers for, but as a society we must reflect and talk about this.We must build a continued awareness within our schools, homes and the workplace.

Kell..I know you are dancing with your new found friend Junie Mitchell, a women that our community loved. May you  both share your stories and keep a watch on those you love here on earth.

Memory Eternal!