2002 was a difficult year. Grandma was in hospice after being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, my mother was sick in the hospital with multiple medical problems, and I was struggling through the last year of Grad school, all while work and family and life continued to march on. I look back and don't know how so much change could happen in one year. It took a toll on me, losing my mother and grandmother the same year, but at the same time, helped to make me realize even more how truly precious life and family are.