This was written  by Kim King LaClair of New York.

When one enters into a relationship and creates a family how do you prepare when life throws you a curve ball and you are left with an empty chair at the dinner table? As you sit at the table looking at each chair you start to question the empty one at the end.  First you start to ask God, why and how it could have happened. Then as tears fill your eyes you wonder if anyone will ever be able to fill it.. Throughout the years the chair seems to get bigger and you start to question the relationships in your life whether they are here for a reason, a season or if they are “good enough” to fill the chair.

Every night as I span the dinner table I look at my 3 beautiful girls.  To my left I stare at my 5- year old big blue eyed, happy, laughing, cheerful Sydney and I feel her infectious happiness.  Next to her I look at my 8 year old goofy, smiling, fidgety Kiersten and I ponder what life has in store for her.  Across from them I look at my 12 year old Chelsea and I know with her strong will, her beautiful Spirit and her love of the little things in life she will go very far.  When silence takes over the table I can’t help but notice everyone looking at the empty chair at the other end.  Even though it has been empty for some time the pain of seeing it empty is very real.

As the seasons come and go I dream about the perfect person that will earn their way into our hearts, our lives and into that chair.  I know without a doubt the person in that chair has a huge responsibility and they not only need to love me but must openly and freely love the other 3 chairs. The person will need to be compassionate, spiritual, empathetic, patient, funny and truly enjoy the little things in life.  They will need to know how to pick out the Perfect Christmas tree, someone who will stay up all night on Christmas Eve knowing what smiles and excitement they will see in the morning, Someone who will lift up our youngest so she can put the Angel on the tree,  someone who will have a funeral and write a eulogy for a gold fish, someone who knows how to cut vegetables up really small to not be detected in food,  someone who can talk with children about friends, teachers, troubles, their bodies and boys, someone that will foster their imaginations, someone who will teach them about the little things in life, someone who will help create memories, someone who enjoys apple picking and carving pumpkins, someone who will  trick or treat if one of our girls are sick, someone who remembers what it was like to be a kid, someone who knows that family life can be hard, demanding, stressful and knows how to be calm in spite of it all, someone who will wipe tears from little eyes, someone who will not disrespect me as a Mom but will inspire me and help me to be a better one, someone who lives for moments, someone who enjoys tradition and family life, someone who will hang up their troubles on a tree before coming home at night, someone who is good at charades, someone who enjoys karaoke, someone who enjoys watching children perform plays, someone who enjoys family night, someone who enjoys the beach and riding waves with the girls, someone who enjoys teaching.  Along with all of that someone who makes me feel like a beautiful woman, someone who is humble, someone who even after a stressful day will hold me in bed, someone who takes over being the caretaker when I am sick, someone who will pick up the towel when I want to throw it in, someone who inspires me, someone who wants to grow spiritually and emotionally as a couple, someone who will take the time to listen, someone who wants to help me transition 3 beautiful strong willed, loving girls into 3 loving, compassionate, sensitive, strong, independent women,  someone who wants to sit with me on our front porch, holding hands watching the sunset, someone who can stop everything to make love, someone who can look at me and through their eyes I feel their love, someone who wants to kiss me goodnight and make love to me every morning.  In return with my love and all my girls love we will fill your life with eternal love, take care of you, hold you, inspire you, bring tears of joy to your eyes, make you feel alive, make lasting memories, fulfill your dreams and help you chase new or old ones, love you today, tomorrow and forever, openly and willfully share every part of our life with you- the good times and the bad.  Someone who wants to Grow Old with us and without a shadow of a doubt knows they have made a difference in all our lives.

After years of praying the chair at the end of our table now has a face and a name.  Her name is Sherri and she is the one I have been preparing for my entire life to come into our lives and make a difference.  Because of you our hearts are filled with love and our fifth chair has now been filled. Because of you we feel happiness and joy once again.  Because of you our home is now complete.  And, rest assured we will never again have tears in our eyes as we look at the end of our table.  I will forever be eternally grateful for all your experiences, pain, joy, love, friends and family that have helped prepare you to fill our chair……. You my dear are answers to all of my questions I have been asking God. I will Love and cherish you till our last breath and even then you will live on in each of us…Thank you for being the one……