Continuing to live on in our hearts

Today marks six months since our dearest Laura passed away.

There hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about her; how her jokes used to make me laugh, how her encouraging words always made me feel better, and how her general sense of fun and joy made everyone's lives brighter. There was one memory in particular where Laura, Allan and I would sit in Mom's living room and write all sorts of silly songs. At one point I was noodling on the piano and Laura started doing this goofy impromptu tap dance for about three minutes.

In a week Allan, Mom, Dad and I will be visiting her two wonderful children, Brad and Wes. I'm hoping we'll have a good time, though there's no doubt that Laura's presence will be missed by everyone. I know there are so many things I still wish I could tell her and many things that I wish she could see.

Unfortunately, it looks like the book is on hold. I haven't been able to work on it properly. Every time I start, I freeze up and can't continue. Maybe it's too soon. Maybe I just need more time to heal. I apologize to everyone who had been looking forward to the book. It is still on track, because it's something I still want to do, but it may take a little longer while I continue to process this.

I was advised to be kind to myself and to take all the time I needed. I have a hard time forgiving myself for anything, so I'm hoping everyone else will be understanding. Be aware I have not forgotten her. Be aware I want to create something that reveres her memory properly.

I will continue to post here as regularly as possible. At the very least I'd like to share pictures and stories, and maybe piece together the book as I go.

We love you, Laura. All of us wish you were here, and none of us will ever forget you.

Work on the book begins this weekend

(Laura met up with Wil Wheaton at Disneyland and managed to get someone to snap her picture! Cool, huh?)


Hey folks. I'm beginning the book in earnest this Saturday. I'm already sorting through pictures. I've already gotten some input from two of Laura's friends, but I need more! If you have any funny stories or anecdotes about Laura, let me know!

For people who aren't sure what to input, here's some possible questions to answer:

How did you first get to know Laura?
What were some of the things she did to make you laugh?
Is there something you'll always think of when you think of her?
Do you have any personal mementos?
What movie or TV character reminds you of her?

Send whatever you can, ESPECIALLY PHOTOS, to sunflowermemories@gmail.com! Thanks very much.

Disneyland 1989

I haven't done much yet other than scan pictures, but here are some favorite pics of mine from a Disneyland trip in 1989. I'm fondest of the pictures that show Laura's wacky side.

Sunflower - Celebrating the Life of Laura Meador

Hello! I'm just beginning to create the book on Laura Meador's life. Please add this to your bookmarks as I plan to show the steady progress on how the book is shaping up.

We're beginning by getting Tom Dye (Laura's and my father) and Mary Devlin (Laura's and my mother) to provide their recollections on how they met, dated and eventually married. I figured this would be a good way to preface the book on Laura's life. After that I'm going to start on Laura's life. Though she was born in Reno, the family moved to Vegas when she was one, so there aren't much in the way of pictures or stories to tell there. Most of the pictures we have of Laura as a baby come from Las Vegas, at what we call "the house on Theresa Street." It was kind of a ramshackle place, in a pretty low-rent neighborhood (we had some notorious bullies give us grief once in a while).

The book is also going to contain as many quotes from Laura as I can muster. She kept an online journal and commented to me on various things. Plus there are also emails and Facebook quotes we can use. One of the quotes that she mentioned to me was that she couldn't remember anything from when Mom and Dad were married, as they separated when she was about four years old. So there may not be much from her during the early stages of the book.

Typing all this assures me that I can come up with some choice material about the family. IF YOU CAN READ THIS, please feel free to send me any memories you have about Laura! The address to write to is sunflowermemories@gmail.com. I will add this postscript to every entry. I also hope to have some pictures.

I hope you enjoy this journey into the life of someone who brought a lot of happiness into the world!