Dear Friends,
Conor truly enjoyed working with each and every one of you. He was passionate and loved what he did. He made life-long friendships and comrades throughout his career. He was relentlessly driven and passionate about each and every cause, and blessed to know each of you.
I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. The outpouring of love and support for our family during this difficult time has taken my breath away... leaving me at a loss for words. I have sat here for several days trying to compose this letter. I've started it and restarted it, to no avail. I know that in time, healing will come, but right now it's hard to even get out of bed. For those of you that know me, you know that I am rarely quiet. For as private as Conor was, I was the ying to his yang and consequently (and often to his great frustration), a wide open book. Some things will never change and I find myself, in the midst of this indescribable pain and grief, wanting to simply share about our children. They were the light of his life and the reason for this letter as so many of you have generously contributed to their college savings account.
From the time they were all home from the hospital and thriving, we used to laugh and dream of the day they would go off to college. We'd watch those four little diapered booties crawl down the long hallway and contemplate the future. Who would they be? What would they dream about? We had so many challenges ahead of us, but so much more to look forward to. Raising quadruplets was never supposed to be easy, but it sure has been an adventure.
Our children turned 14 years old this past May. How did we get here? I guess the same way we will forge ahead, one day at a time. Time is a very funny thing isn't it? In five short years they will all be off to college. They each have so many beautiful dreams. They've grown into such incredible humans. Conor was so proud of them. I'm proud of them every minute of every single day. So who are these kiddos anyway?
Molly is an old soul. She dreams of making the world a better place one child at a time. She wants to go to UC Berkeley and study Psychology. Once she has her Bachelor's degree she plans to continue her education and become a Psychiatrist. She dreams of working with children who have been through trauma. She wants to be a voice for those that don't have one and a light in the darkness. She is so incredibly wise and full of love. No doubt, our driven girl will change the world. No doubt at all.
Ally is as sensitive as the day is long. She feels the pain and joy in all of those around her. Her heart bleeds for those that are hurting and she too wants to change the world. She plans to attend UC Davis and become a Veterinarian. Animals feed her soul and she connects with them like no one I've ever seen. She's our resident Dr. Doolittle. She and Molly have this amazing plan to work together! Ally dreams of training therapy animals and bringing them to soothe Molly's patients. I've got to say, this dream makes me so proud. She is so full of LOVE, what more does the world really need?
Libby is our quiet and deeply thoughtful child. She has the heart and soul of a musician. You can rarely find her without her ear buds in, listening, singing, and writing music. She doesn't know "what she wants to be when she grows up." I think that's great! I encourage her to follow her passions and challenge her to find something she loves to do. Afterall, if you love what you do, everything else falls into place. Shouldn't we all chase our JOY? She dreams of attending Oregon State University or USF (where Conor and I went to school). She's also huge into reading, writing stories, and the most organized person I know! She's tiny, mighty, and nothing will keep this kid down once she figures out who she is and where she wants to go.
Russell is tender and kind. He's fallen in love with skateboarding and he's gotten pretty good! He dreams of being a professional skateboarder and "the best dad in the world." He can't wait to go to college, but has no idea where he'd like to land yet or what he wants to do. It changes daily. Today he said, "maybe I'll be a Dentist!" Hey, he's only an 8th grader, so that's cool. He dreams of California beaches, so maybe he'll head South! Time will tell. He too has the heart of an artist and the kid can draw! The future is wide open for this sweet kiddo and I'm excited to watch him chase his dreams, whatever they may be.
Dreams are what keep us going. Dreams are what get us all out of bed in the morning. Dreams are what give us hope. We can't change the past. We can't bring Conor back, but we CAN grieve, love, heal and grow. We CAN keep living and make him proud. There will be ups and downs, good times and hard times, but our love for eachother will keep us going. The love of this beautiful community will help us heal. Thank you, for making college a REAL possibility for our four children. Every penny will be lovingly used to bring them closer to becoming the beautiful people they are meant to be. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
See, an open book. Even at a loss for words I can't help myself. ;) Conor is looking down, smirking and shaking his head with every word I type. But hey, some things will never change and I will always share my heart. The kiddos and I have a lot of life left to live and I intend on making as many happy memories as humanly possible. Life is about living and that's what we intend to do. Thank you for giving us so much hope for the future and thank you for putting up with my rambling train of thought. Someday I'll really be able to put into words what your love and support has meant to us. Right now, it's just hard to breath... one day at a time.
All our love and deepest gratitude,
Gen, Molly, Ally, Libby and Russ McNulty