Today, I am gonna try to tell you what I learned in death.

One year and 13 days ago, I lost my husband, Dave.

His death was sudden and unexpected.

Dave's death changed me in very profound ways.

I learned about the depths of sadness and the brutality of loss.

But I also learned that when life sucks you under, you can kick against the bottom, find the surface, and breathe again.

So ten days after Dave died, my kids went back to school and I went back to work.

I remember sitting in my first Facebook meeting in a total haze.

Thinking: "What is everyone talking about and how could this possibly matter?"

And then I got drawn into the conversation and for a second, the briefest of all second, I forgot about death.

That second helped me see that there were other things in my life that were not awful.

My children and I were healthy.

My friends and family, some of them are with me today, were carrying us, quite literally.

I am sharing this with you today in the hopes that on this day in your life, with all the momentum and the joy, you can learn in life the lessons I only learned in death.

Lessons about hope, about strength, and about the light within us that will not be extinguished.

It is the greatest irony of my life that losing my husband helped me find deeper gratitude.