Diane & Leo (the author) on her 48th birthday

Endless Courage

By Leo Racicot

26 February 2026. On this date, a year ago, I lost the best part of me. Whereas I am flighty, my sister was practical. Where I struggled to learn common sense and logic, she seemed to have been born with both. Where she was pleasing to look at, I was not.

I’m the first to admit I took the wayward brother bit way too far. I was forever getting myself in one mess after the other, to the point of ridiculousness. Diane would always, with unquestioning swiftness, race to rescue me.

I marveled at her strength; Life dealt her one lousy hand after another. Rather than whine, sulk and pout (my years-long chosen M.O.), she got down to the business at hand, playing each round, overcoming the odds, often winning.

There was a fearless aspect to her character, a pit bull quality. One time, I remember, she found a thief trying to break into the house. The guy had to be 6′ 4″, if he was an inch.  Tiny Diane, 5″ 4″, cornered and confronted him. I couldn’t believe the speed with which this guy, his rear end full of verbal buckshot, took off, a fox caught.

Diane’s stubborn streak saw her through myriad hospitalizations, myriad calamities. untold disappointments, unexpected heartbreaks.

Ours was never an affectionate family — few kisses, fewer embraces. How I wish I’d told her how much I loved her.

When the time came that it was clear her time in this world was coming to an end, I tried as hard as I could to keep her from leaving.

I don’t know where we end up when we go: whether we become a part of the celestial ether, whether worm food and ash. My beliefs tell me she is surely in a better place, free of her lifelong suffering.

A year on, every day is a struggle. But I’ve learned that it’s selfish wanting to keep our loved ones beside us forever when they decide to journey on…