Update on Sarah

One of the nice things about being out here is that we are really close to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, etc. which means we have the chance to see great speakers, terrific exhibits, great theater/alternative film, etc., all of which we had been missing in the six years we spent in northern BC.

The downside is the dearth of natural landscape. And we miss the mountains and ocean and giant spreading beauty of northern BC. The Great Lakes are pretty amazing, but pretty populated/polluted, which is depressing.

All going according to plans, however, we will be back in BC in the next few years. Luke is doing his Masters at Carleton University and living in Quebec during the week (close to Ottawa) so we are getting out for good hikes/bikes in the Gateneau Hills and parks, but it's not really the same as being able to drive to the Rockies and Jasper from Prince George to go hiking.

I've just spent the last few days going over and over the incredible website you put together. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you have done this -- your work is gorgeous and it is an incredible tribute to Theresa. She would have loved it, I am sure.

It has also been incredibly therapeutic for me: reading the notes she sent to you inspired memories of all the old notes and letters from her that I bundled together a few years ago...seeing her handwriting again had an incredible effect on me, as if to reinforce that we can't ever forget her amazing life; seeing the photos of the service was also important to me because I was so broken up at the time that nothing really registered...the photo allowed me to take a breath and say "oh yes, that was how it was"; and all the photos you have put together allowed her face to reinstate itself into my memory...I confess that in the past three years, even though I look at pictures of her often, I was beginning to have a more static memory of her than I wanted to. Her face has once again become dynamic and multi-faceted because of all the pictures you have included of her on the website.

I am very, very, grateful that such a site will exist so that I can go to it on a regular basis. It's incredible, isn't it, what an impact she had in her short 28 years? This year I published my first book: when my editor and the publishing house asked about a dedication page, I knew instantly that it would be to Theresa. I also knew that without her in my life, much of everything I now do and think about would never have happened. Every day she continues to form a fairly significant part of my foundation. I still miss her, painfully, all the time.

I really think what you have done is amazing. I suspect it will provide many more people than just me with a much needed opportunity to re-visit Theresa.

Sarah de Leeuw