I remember back to the months following the loss of our daughter Willow. My eyes had been opened to this brand new world of reality. It brought me comfort to hear stories of other families and parents that went through a similar experience. A close family friend said something similar to, "It's a club that no one wants to be a part of, but a club that will support you through and through" ... and WOW, was he right!

 

It felt as if this new part of my story had somewhat come to define me - most days leaving me overwhelmed as it lead me to learn new facts. ALL these new facts that I felt ignorant I didn't know prior to Willow. I could go on and on about all of these facts - I now can list at least 5-10 of them just off the top of my head and give you points on why I would've loved if someone would've prepared me with all of this info ... BUT, I will save that for another post.

 

In the time that I learned so much about loss, I also found so many resources of families, groups and even events that were bringing this new "club" I had become a part of, TOGETHER! My eyes would swell as I would find more and more outlets of ways to express my love and gratitude about my experience, while at the same time, allowing myself to grieve - giving me an overall understanding that it was OKAY to grieve! This post came up in my memories on Facebook yesterday from September 25, 2019 ... I found it fitting as it hits on a couple different ways that the community of people around me provided my with such comfort, without even knowing it ...

 

Just know how insanely good this movement makes me feel and that is all thanks to you. Understand that by you doing good, it makes me smile ... and when I smile, it takes me back to the months directly following losing our sweet Willow, which were filled with sadness - but also joy ... joy every time someone would place their hand on my back as they walked by in public to let me know their heart ached for me ... joy every time someone would come up to me and started blinking a lot as they were ignoring the tears filling their eyes trying to push through getting a "normal" conversation to make me feel better ... joy every time someone hugged me and held me just a little bit longer as I felt their entire body exhale a sigh of relief that they could finally express their sadness to me.