Dear Jakey, I still get overwhelmed by the loss in the world. Some days, it seems that no matter where you look people are living in the world of grief. I don't know the degree to which I noticed it before your death. Of course, I felt the tragedy that others feel...

Dear Jakey, I feel a little like we were in a fight. Not really a real fight. More of a secret fight. You remember those don't you?  The ones I get in with people when I know that it's mostly me being annoyed by things I shouldn't be. The ones that are more a "me...

Dear Jakey, Sometimes I feel like I have it all under control but then it becomes quite clear that I don't. I have been in a fog since we came back from California and while I first blamed it on jet lag, it has been clear that it is something more. Maybe it was the...

Dear Jakey, Onwards through the fog. I woke up this morning thinking about that phrase. And I tried to remember when I first heard it or started saying it. It makes me think that it was a lifetime ago, maybe back when I was 20 and first started working at Zoland...

Dear Jakey, Wow, I did it again. I let an absurd amount of time go by between letters and I have been procrastinating this one for too long. So much has happened that I wanted to tell you about. So many things: happy and sad yet I never made the time. I don't know why...

Dear Jakey, So today's the day. A pit in my stomach arrives at some point before this day comes. And then the day comes and for the last four years we have spent this time away. The first year we went to Lake Placid and the following years we have come to Montreal...

Dear Jakey, As we quickly approach December 8th I find myself more and more in a daze. The line between happy and sad, between productive and not, between angry and weepy, silly and mopey is all so grey. Blurred Lines. When I was out today I heard that song which is...

Dear Jakey, I started this on Monday and couldn't get it quite right. And I realized it was because it was a bit too early. I started to write in anticipation of how this time of year makes me feel and the distractions I had in place that I thought might prevent my...

Dear Jakey, I write to you today from a happy place, a truly happy place. Today has been an extraordinarily good day for me. And not for anything particularly exciting just from a sense of contentment in all aspects of my life. I guess I often find myself feeling good...

Dear Jakey, I wonder why I do it. Why I read so many books about people dying and why I watch movies when I know people die.  I do it a lot. And today, as I was watching The Fault of Our Stars I came up with the answer. Every time I wrap my self up in someone else's...