I wallowed for a long time, still do but not nearly as much as I used to. My daughter died in a car accident in March of 2003. I was hospitalized and medicated . I I was in therapy for almost 8 years. The pain is always there it will never go away. When I came home from the hospital I started to read my daughters journals. She wrote about her desire to make a difference, she was a premed major at Swarthmore College. I had to do something to keep her alive in some way. I could not let her be forgotten and become just a name on a tombstone. I could never do what she would have accomplished but I could do something in her name. I retired from my job teaching art and opend the Katie Stauffer Memorial Art Center. I've done everything in my power to make the center a successs. I volunteer for everything needed. It is my way of doing something positive in her memory.
This year on her birthday I started a group called " For the Love of Katie" I asked everyone who knew her to give her a present and do something to make a difference inn her name. I asked them to post what they had done on the page. I was overwhelmed by the response, even people who never met her participated. They all assured me that she would never be forgotten!