Steve Burns, perhaps still better known simply as Steve from Blue's Clues from your millennial childhood, has released a video to let his now-adult fans know that he never, ever forgot them since leaving the show in 2002. The emotional video is part of the Nickelodeon show's 25th anniversary--and it is likely to provide a powerful dose of nostalgia and closure for kids who maybe didn't even realize they never quite got over Steve's sudden departure from that show.

　　"You remember how when we were younger, we used to run around and hang out with Blue and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt and freak out about the mail and do all the fun stuff?" said Burns, wearing his familiar and iconic green-striped shirt for the clip. "And then one day, I was like, 'Oh hey, guess what? Big news, I'm leaving. Here's my brother Joe, he's your new best friend,' and then I got on a bus and I left and we didn't see each other for like a really long time? Can we just talk about that? Because I realize that was kind of abrupt." Check out the video below to see the full heartfelt message.

　　So about that time Steve went off to college… #BluesClues25 pic.twitter.com/O8NOM2eRjy

　　— Nick Jr. (@nickjr) September 7, 2021

　　While earlier this year it finally came out that a major motivator for Burns to leave the show was due to an interest in pursuing a music career (with Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann and drummer Steve Drozd​​), his heartfelt message here is solely focused on expressing gratitude for his viewers--and thanking them for still being his friend. The show never really dwelled much on the gravity of his exit.

　　Burns does in passing reference some shared pains his audience is also enduring (student-loan debt, for example), but for two solid minutes it's like Steve had never left.

　　David Wolinsky on Google+