My cousin Alex wrote this note to Laura when she was in the hospital:
Dear Laura,
I wanted to write this note to share my gratitude, admiration, and love for you. My life will forever be better because you and your family are a part of it. As is often the case with friends and family who live far away, I will always wish there could have been more time together. And I want you to know how deeply I cherish the times we have shared.
I remember your trip to DC when you stayed with Greg and I. I consider it a moment where I bonded with everyone in your family. Though I must say, as a history major and former History teacher, I cannot tell you the immense joy and excitement I felt connecting with Marcus and Jared over the vast paraphernalia I had collected from my travels around the world. Finally! There was someone I could talk to (cause it certainly wasn’t Greg!) about the art of papyrus making; someone who would observe, sort, and appreciate every coin in my collection of global currency; and of course, someone who would listen to my tales of international espionage and intelligence gathering for the US government (even CIA agents need someone to confide in).
I said to Greg during your trip “I enjoy talking to Marcus far more than many of the adults in my life.” I was so grateful to spend time with your children and witness their curiosity and inquisitiveness. While some characteristics are innate to us from the day we are born, that deep desire to explore, learn, and grow from others and the surrounding world is one that I truly believe is cultivated by parents. Those moments with Marcus and Jared were in so many ways a window into understanding the amazing woman and parent you are.
I also remember Greg, Michael, Marcus, and Jared heading downstairs to the basement (I imagine it was to engage in some sort of heated Jabs/Palumbo/Rodriguez debate that we’ve so fondly witnessed at many a dinner table). You and I, for good reason, decided to stay upstairs.
We spoke about raising children—to which I could only speculate as to how I might approach it, while you were deeply living and breathing parenthood every day. I remember being inspired and amazed by the thoughtfulness and intention you put into parenting and the life you wanted to create for your children. I remember feeling hopeful during that conversation—that within a vast world we cannot control, with powerful influences we cannot change, that the decision about how we show up for our children is always within our hands. That is a lesson, from a beautiful conversation, that happened in a tiny kitchen in Fairfax, Virginia, that I have kept with me and continue to draw on as I raise my own children.
Laura—I want you to know how grateful I am that the universe brought us together as family; that we have been able to share moments of immense joy and love during weddings, the birth of children, graduations, and anniversaries; that we have supported one another to remember the incredible people who came before us and built the foundation to our extended family; and that we have witnessed—through the ingenuity of Marcus and Jared—what is looks like to make, and successfully wear, a bow tie that is made entirely out of Legos. How freaking cool is that?
Know that you are so very loved by Greg, Evie, Simon, and I…that we are sending that love to you each and every day…and that we see and feel the bright light you put into the world.
Love,
Alex