“Stay strong.” 

I see the orange post-it note from Aubrey from 2017–it says the same two words the alcohol-free video ends with today: Stay strong.

Coincidence? Hardly.

I have too much to lose. 

I have too much to gain. 

This is not the day to pat myself on the back and say, “Well done.”

Or, likely I could be done. 

So Josie, stay strong. You are in the euphoric stage of the race, the one you believe you are capable of anything. But just around the bend, you know there is the wall. The one you can either continue on and break through, or will slam right into because you didn’t build enough momentum to get through. 

So, again I say it, aloud this time, “Stay strong.”

And remember the rest of the post-it to encourage you on, “You have a crowd in Heaven cheering you on. I love you.”