I want you to know, first of all, that I am okay. It broke my heart and shook my core, but I am okay. I don’t understand all the reasons why you walked away from us, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that some people are only a part of our lives for a little while. And then they leave. And then it hurts. And then you get a little bit stronger. You don’t “get over it.” I’m still not over it. There are days when I cannot cope with the burden of knowing you’re gone. I don’t understand because I would have fought for us, I DID fight for us. But you didn’t… you walked away. And I would be lying if I said I could do the same. But I’ve learned that some people who leave make room for new people to enter, and it makes me appreciate the ones who do stay just a little more. I love you even though you left, and I think I always will. You will hold a special place in my heart, because I’m not willing to deny that at one time things were great and you meant the world to me. But some people just don’t stay. And you have to be cautious when people promise that they’ll always be there. Because I’ve learned that oftentimes the ones who have to promise things like that are often the ones who know they can’t keep those promises. But I hope that you find your way in this world and I hope that sometimes you look back and wish you had chosen to fight a little harder. And I want you to know that I will still leave a part of myself open to you if you ever decide to come back. I guess that’s my way of continuing to fight. You know, I really never stopped fighting. I don’t know if it was as hard for you as it was for me, and I’d like to think that you think about it as much as I do. I can’t erase the mark you made on my life, and I don’t really want to. I can’t erase the past and I don’t want to because the past is a part of who I am, good and bad. But through all of it, the whirlwind of emotions to being left alone having to deal with the pain of knowing you might never come back, knowing that you’re more okay than I am, I have learned one thing. I will be the person who stays. I will be the person who fights. I will not walk away when it gets hard. I will love those around me and fight for them with my whole heart because you taught me how it feels to not do all those things. So I love you, and I am grateful for you, and I have learned from you. And I hope that you read this, and I sincerely hope that next time, you choose to stay.