Since long before I was even a thought, loss has affected the people around me in many different ways.  While everyone has experienced some sort of loss or another, each person handles mourning differently, and some of the ways which this takes form in my family have affected the decisions that they, and I , have made over the years, even if we do not immediately realize it.  Sometimes it could be the person we have known our entire lives who has passed recently, or it could have been someone who we never even knew who affected our lives the most.  Sometimes it’s a close relative or friend, or sometimes even a pet who we’ve lost.  All of these have taken form in my family in some form or another, which is why I wish to tell the stories of the many people and animals who have affected me.  While the affects of those people may not immediately be evident, the behaviors of the people around me, and of myself, were greatly influenced by some of the people who are no longer with us, and this is what I aim to tell.