From the window of the maternity room where Jenni was born you could see the sun shining on the nearby lighthouse, and her Dad thought at the time, what a perfect start to a life. We often think that something of that sunshine stayed with Jenni throughout her life, as there was something about her smile that could always light up the day. Jenni had Rett Syndrome, and although it is usual today to say of people like Jennifer that they have special needs, and that is quite true, we prefer to think of her as just special, and we know that she touched the lives of everyone who met her. Friends, teachers, nurses, everyone seemed to feel that special something about Jenni, that indefinable quality that just made you feel better. Nothing was quite so good as a cuddle with her, and at the end of a grim day 5 minutes sitting with her put it all back in perspective. Jenni could not walk or talk, or hold out her arms for a cuddle, but she definitely knew more than she was letting on, and you always knew how she felt about something. If she was watching TV and you got between her and the picture she would very pointedly look anywhere but at you, and she had a habit of blowing raspberries at just the right moment that left us in no doubt at all that they weren’t all accidental. She was bored by shopping and always fell asleep in her chair, and sightseeing left her cold as well – we have a collection of photographs of Jenni asleep in front of various interesting places around the world. She had an enviable ability to sleep, and although she has always had wonderful, kind teachers, it certainly seemed as if whenever and wherever she felt like a sleep then she just dozed off. Once she brought home a teacher’s award for staying awake all day – which for Jenni certainly was an achievement. On the other hand, Jenni loved music, being with people and playing games. One of her favourites was to sit holding hands on her Dad’s knee and gently rock back and forth while we sang ‘row, row, row your boat’. We always sang the middle part not as ‘merrily merrily merrily’ but as ‘Jenni B, Jenni B, Jenni B’. Jenni B passed away in her sleep at home on the morning of 22 March 2006. She will always be in our hearts; we will never forget her mass of beautiful curls, her pretty face and that lovely smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. She had a certain sparkle, sometimes mischievous, that somehow drew you in and warmed your own heart, and despite all the difficulties that she fought so bravely and tenaciously throughout her short life, we never sensed any anger, bitterness or indeed anything negative at all from her. Jenni was just Jenni. She was a special member of our family and brought us more than we can ever describe. We were privileged and blessed to have had her in our lives and we know that the world is a better place for her having been in it.