As many friends know, today was the second anniversary of the loss of our sweet Tyler. I chose to spend the day by myself with her faithful companion and best friend Milly, and to reflect on the past, cherish many wonderful memories, and at the same time, mourn our great loss.

Tyler spoke to Milly as if she were a human. Because of Tyler, Milly has a very large vocabulary. When you speak to Milly in people talk she looks you right in the eyes with her big brown lab/pug eyes and rotates her head from side to side as she comprehends what you’re saying.

As we started our day I spoke to her about what happened to her best friend 2 years ago today and she looked right at me, and turned her head a couple of times. When I stopped talking, she stared away with the saddest dawgy face I’ve ever seen her make. She knows what today is and she remembers and she misses.

Throughout the day Tyler and I shared emotions and many memories.

We remembered her coming home from the hospital and Beth and I driving her through the Gardners Barbecue so we could see her name up on Poppies sign welcoming his first grandchild home.

We remembered the arrivals of her two baby sisters and how much she loved Blair and Josie and what a good big sister she was to each of them.

We remembered the first time, as a tiny little thing, when she snow skied between my legs holding onto my ski pole as we headed down the mountain. Fearless and loving every minute.

We laughed about the time on the boat when she jumped off to swim with the dolphins.

We thought about all the great family trips: ski trips, outer banks, Cayman islands, our father daughter trip to Snowshoe/Aspen, and of course the cruise. We were able to laugh about our one and only family cruise when Tyler decided to try alcohol for the first time, straight vodka, and how sick she was all the way home from Miami.

We reflected on her strong will and determination to graduate from Carolina on time despite dealing with some very difficult health issues throughout the majority of her time there.

We reflected on how far she had come, how much she had accomplished and how she had found herself with God’s help in Jackson. And of course, we remembered how much the kids she worked with at the ranch loved her, miss her and how they and staff will never forget Tyler and Catherine.

We glorified how happy she was having made home in Jackson with Milly. We gave thanks for the many great friends she had made and for how loved she was by so many. We prayed and gave thanks for the full life she was living at the time the good Lord decided to bring her home.

To sum it all up today was a day of smiles, happy thoughts, special memories and yes of course, cries and tears.

Her friends and family love her and miss her and we will never forget her. Oh behalf of the family today thank you for the texts, Facebook comments, phone calls and everything else and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. God bless Tyler.