Natalee Missing 28 Months May 30, 2005 - September 30, 2007

How must it feel to not know where your precious daughter may be. Is she safe or in danger, fearing for her life each and every day. Is she alone and scared and has not one to comfort her and take away her fears. You lie awake many a night or wake up with a terrible fright. No one is ever prepared for this and it has to be the most horrible situation you could imagine yourself ever having to face. What do I do now? Who do I turn to? Who will help?

You ask yourself so many times, 'Did I or she do something so wrong as to cause or deserve this terrible tragedy"? And then, your sadness turns to anger; anger in that someone, without a thought, could possible have no respect or feeling for another by taking away their dignity and value as a person. How could someone not think about the consequences of what they do and how many other lives will be so affected by their actions.

You look around and discover that you are not alone in what you are going through. You see that there are literally thousands of others experiencing the same heartbreak and frustration as they are getting no answers. You reach out to them and they reach out to you. It is comforting, in a way, to have others you can talk to and share your feelings because you know that they do understand as they are wearing the same shoes as you. It is a terrible existence, living each day with the ominous burden of the not knowing or being able to learn anything that might help in the search to find your loved one. Many times the stress and strain on the family life is just so much that family is essentially no longer a family and it falls apart and you are left to cope alone. However, you have made many new friends, many you have never met. They have now become such a part of your life and they will try and help you get through all this. Where would you be without them.

You just wish you could wake up and realize it was all just a dream, a terrible nightmare. But, then you know it is not because as you pass their empty room and they are not there you know it is real. You try to look forward with hope and expectation that your daughter will return and life can resume again, although you know how different it will be. But at least you could talk to her, hold her, comfort her and help her to become whole again.

You have to cling to that hope, that dream, that wish that it will happen. You go to bed each night and say a prayer thanking God for getting you through another day. And, you ask Him to give you the strength and courage to face tomorrow because you know you will have to do it all over again.

No one should have to go through something such as this. And, yet, it seems as if each day we see another heartbreaking story of a missing loved one. It just makes you cry and want to scream, 'Why'? Maybe it has been like this for a long time, but now we hear more about it because it has become such a concern. It seems to be something that society has lost control over and there appears to be no way to make it stop. We can punish those who perpetuated these senseless acts, but for the most part, the result of their acts is the loss of a loved one and nothing will replace that loss.

There is no closure for the loss of a loved one under these circumstances and sometimes there is only partial resolution as you may know what happened and who was the cause, but you may go on forever without being able to properly grieve or provide a dignified and final good bye. That is something that we do not want to happen for Natalee and her families.

We must always remember that a broken life is something we may not be able to fix, but we must do anything and everything we can to try and help. We must be there for those in need, putting our heart in their hands and letting them know we will be there for them at any time. We can not be judgemental as they are doing the best that they know how and there are no guides or handbooks for this. It is a day by day situation that needs to be treated with love, compassion and respect.

For 28 months now (854 days) we have seen the families of Natalee experience this and they have done it with such dignity and grace. They have shown us what complete, undending and unconditional love really is by their words and actions. We must continue to support them and assure them that this support will continue until Natalee is found and brought home. We can not give up on them nor can we ever give up on Natalee. We must make sure that their voices are heard lound and strong and that no one ever forgets the wrongs that have been done.

I will be here for as long as it takes - that is a promise and a commitment - because I care. I care about Natalee and I care about her family members. I have faith and I have hope and I believe that God will make things right.

† Hope for Natalee †