5 years

Almost 5 years have passed since we lost my precious Mom. Today would have been her 60th birthday. I’m sure we would have been celebrating with a traditional Friday night with drinks by the pool followed by dinner with our family. So much has happened in those 5 years. At one point, I would have never thought I could go on without her. Some days are harder than others. In fact some minutes seems impossible to conquer but none the less, we move forward. We’ve missed her every step of the way and desperately wish she could be here to witness all the new milestones and memories in our lives. Ben and I were married the summer after Mom passed. Since then we have welcomed two beautiful daughters into our lives. Avery is 2.5 and Emilia  “Emmy” is 4 months old. We recently purchased a new house and Dad helped us renovate it. We lived with him for 3 months during the process and Avery’s relationship with her Poppi continued to blossom. I will be starting a new position in the Fall as a UPK teacher just like Mom was! Chad and Melly were married two summers ago. They bought a house in Rochester and have welcomed a dog Otis “Odie” into their lives. Chad continues his work with the University of Rochester leading their physical therapy offices. Melly is a school counselor at Gates Chili. Zac and his girlfriend Meghan live here in LeRoy in the house Zac built. Zac just added on a beautiful patio area onto their home that looks like it’s straight out of a magazine. I know many people have asked about Zac’s health. He is doing well and has recovered from his previous issues with his eyes and the brain surgery. He still works with Dad at Whitney East and Meghan teaches Kindergarten at Geneseo. Dad has continued working and has taken some trips to stay busy. He’s taken several hunting trips out west and even went to Europe last year to tour around Italy. He makes time to see his granddaughters almost daily and has a beautiful relationship with them. Many people say Avery resembles my mom in so many ways. We’ve continued our work in spreading Mom’s love of reading through her Memorial Fund. Some of the more recent donations are a dramatic play area at Fairport library, an outdoor book box in LeRoy, a donation to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to fund children in LeRoy to receive monthly books, books to the Strong Pediatrics wing, a “garden” alcove at the library at Wolcott Street school in LeRoy and more. If you’d like to see more donations please visit our website at https://cond8563.wixsite.com/criscondidorio. I challenge you to do 5 acts of kindness this June in honor of my beautiful mother, her birthday and her five years in heaven. Anything from a smile to brighten someone’s day, a phone call to someone you love, or a chai tea latte to the next person in the Starbucks line. Try to make the world a better place just as Mom did!