It still hits

Sometimes, though maybe not as strongly in the past. Maybe it's the holidays. Maybe it's because he'd be the age of my students.
Mostly, it's probably because I don't want to forget about him. I want him to stay close to my memory. I want to be abl eot share his memory with my own family some day.
He would be 11 now. What would he want for Christmas? Books, a phone, or a baseball glove, or possibly a fishing pole? It's hard not knowing.

Love you and miss you still Dakota, my precious nephew.

Christmases Past