As I write this post, I have the pleasure of being at my Uncle’s lake house in Northern Idaho. While I still have to work, working outside on a second floor balcony overlooking a lake is certainly nothing to complain about.

As I work I can look down at the dock where my daughters, nieces, and nephews are playing in the water. A strange thing happened as I was watching my oldest daughter swimming.

My daughter dove into the lake, and as she came up out of the water I could see the shadow of Cassidy in her. This was strange for me because I see my children as their own people and don’t usually see either me or theor mother in them. I just see them.

But what I saw was Cassidy’s love for the water. One of the few places she was always happy was when she was swimming. She would come alive in the waves. I saw a shadow of that joy as I watched my daughter swimming. I am grateful for the good things Cassidy passed on to our daughters.

This observation was strange because I really don’t see much of Cassidy in our daughters. They are very much themselves. But what I realized was that some of Cassidy’s good attributes are carried on in our children. I am grateful for the good things they can carry forward into their lives.