I really am not trying to make this blog a total downer but for the past couple of months I have been reading this blog. This woman lost her 5 year old daughter, Hannah, on July 19. Friday, September 21 is Hannah's birthday and since she was a girly girl who loved sparkles and fancy things, her mom, Rachael, is requesting that people dress sparkly for Hannah that day.
Being a sparkle girl myself, I will definitely be wearing something special. I have been so amazed at the attitude Rachael has and her grief process. Such a very personal thing to share with strangers -- and somehow I feel like her entries make it easier for those who read them to process their own grief. (Or is it just me?) Perhaps it is that she takes each day as it comes, knowing that some days will be better than others. Perhaps it is that she looks for the good in each day so that she can make note of it later. Perhaps it is the connection she and her husband and their daughter Lily seem to have to Hannah. There are no overtly religious messages in her entries, yet I feel that they are spiritual people who possess a deep faith in something.
I didn't really mean for this to get all religious, but it does make me think about my own faith (or rather, the lack thereof). Finding a balance between what I know to be true, what I wish to be true, and what I think to be true is a challenge. Maybe I was directed to that blog for a deeper reason.
At any rate, the blog is worth reading. And wear something sparkly for Hannah on Friday, willya? I really want to believe she'll see it and smile.
Mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend. Scrapbooker, family historian, reader, cook, photographer. Volunteer. Political junkie. Springsteen fan. Loves deeply, strives daily to be a cheerful, kind and generous person. Fails regularly. Snarky, judgy and more than a little blunt. Some people don't appreciate my style. If you're one of them, that's ok. Get your own blog.
Jennifer, thank you for sharing the link and your feelings about it. That is a deeply moving blog, going as it does from the journal of a happy family to an expression of the most profound grief a family can ever know. It's been very sad to read, but you're right, this woman's courage is inspiring. And I'm reminded again to thank God for every minute I have with my children happy and healthy and close by my side. It's amazing how quickly everything can change.
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