Mother’s Day when your child is dead
May 12, 2017 at 1:14 pm | Posted in Grief, Love | 4 CommentsTags: Buddha, child loss, life after loss, love, mother's day, Sawyer, thoughts
There are no rules for Mother’s Day without your child/children. We miss our children every day but some days are harder than others. This is one of those days.
- Remember that you are and always will be a mother.
- Know you are not alone. This club has many members.
- The baby/child loss club is not the only one out there. There are those without their mothers on Mother’s Day and countless other loss clubs. Buddha’s story about the mustard seed sums it up perfectly – “in the whole city, in the whole world, there is not one family, not one person free from the certainty of death. It is the way of all living things – we must at some time leave one another.”
- Do one thing (no matter how big or small) for yourself – even if that one thing is crying or showering.
- Honor/remember your child.
- Hug your family and friends a bit tighter.
- Talk about your child. Say their name (or names).
- Be kind to yourself.
I hope that you all have the best day possible.
Wave of Light 2016
October 18, 2016 at 7:00 pm | Posted in life after loss, Love | 5 CommentsTags: Atlanta Walk to Remember, child loss, grief, hope, Jake, life after loss, Sawyer, Wave of Light - October 15th
We lit our candles on October 15.
This year and last year I made the candles we lit. I made candles that were given out at the Atlanta Walk to Remember. There is not much I can do to lessen the pain that a bereaved parent carries throughout their lifetime. I am hoping that the candle makes their path a little brighter (even if it is only for a little while).
Mother’s Day Marketing
May 12, 2016 at 11:10 pm | Posted in Grief, Jake, life after loss, Sawyer | 6 CommentsTags: baby loss, cemetery, child loss, death of a baby, hope, life after loss, mother's day, Sawyer
As I have done every year since Jake died, I went to the cemetery on Mother’s Day . It is a very busy day at the cemetery, possibly the busiest day all year. I understand that the marketing people want to make the most of the day. There is always a little table set up. Last year they gave out gift bags. The year before there was a Mother’s Day cookout (along with free t-shirts). This year they opted to give out a survey and a rose.
I do not have any better ideas for their marketing team but I do appreciate their effort. Death is a part of life that is difficult to talk about. I appreciate their efforts to help grieving family and friends. I think I will write on the survey that a flower and a survey are better than a cookout at the cemetery but I do wonder what they will come up with for next year.
Marching for Hope
March 30, 2016 at 8:28 pm | Posted in life after loss, Love | 2 CommentsTags: baby loss, child loss, death of a baby, Jake, life after loss, love, March of Dimes, Sawyer, thoughts, ways to honor the memory of your child
I do not like it but I have accepted the fact that Jake and Sawyer have died. However, I refuse to give up hope that other babies can live. I do not know how to save these lives but the March of Dimes does. Please if you are in Atlanta consider walking with us on April 30, 2016. Click this link to join Jake’s Journey and Sawyer’s Strides. If that is not in the cards, consider whether you can support us in our fundraising efforts by clicking this link.
Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick — just like Jake was almost 11 years ago. Likewise, thousands of babies are born with birth defects or unknown medical problems that cause great hardships or unexpected deaths — just like what happened to Sawyer more than 6 years ago. We will be walking in March for Babies again this year because we NEED to do something about this, so that no family has to go through what we dealt with when Jake was born at 26 weeks, and no family kisses their child goodnight and never gets to kiss them good morning the next day like what happened with Sawyer. And we need your help. Please support our walk and fundraising efforts. Every dollar makes a difference. And in our case, every $1 = $2 due to a generous match by Northside Hospital. The March of Dimes uses the funds on key research, education and outreach programs. But we need your support. Nothing can be more important than all of us having healthy babies. Making a secure donation is easy: just click here. Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start! And thank you for helping us honor and remember Jake and Sawyer’s far-too-short lives.
thank you so much and a bit of happy
March 1, 2016 at 6:36 pm | Posted in Cemetery, Jake, Love, Sawyer | 3 CommentsTags: baby loss, child loss, death of a baby, happy, hope, Jake, life after loss, Sawyer
Last week I went to the cemetery and someone left flowers for Jake and Sawyer! I have not been able to figure out who left them but I want to thank you so much for being so thoughtful and for remembering Jake and Sawyer.
holidays and hope
December 30, 2015 at 10:44 pm | Posted in Anniversaries, Grief, life after loss, Sawyer | 7 CommentsTags: child loss, dark days, death of a baby, holidays, hope, Jewish customs, life after loss, perspective, Sawyer, thoughts
The anniversary of Sawyer’s death (the Jewish yahrzeit and the English date) were both this past week. I know that these anniversaries can be tough for me so I try to keep extra busy. I have been volunteering for an organization called Second Helpings. Restaurants, grocery stores, corporate dining halls, farmers markets and schools with a surplus of food are connected with shelters and food pantries. I signed up as a substitute driver for a few shifts over the holidays. The twins are on vacation from school so they helped too.
It is just basically driving and loading/unloading the food. The twins sat in the car listening to their books on CD while I navigated from the store to the shelter. All was going fine until I realized that the drop off location was around the corner from the Atlanta Medical Examiners Office. After the emergency room this is the building where Sawyer’s body was taken. Evan and I went there to meet with one of the pathologists a few weeks after the autopsy. All my attempts to distract myself failed as soon as I saw that building.
I miss Sawyer on the anniversary of his death, on holidays and every day. I know that this season can be hard for a lot of people. I wish I could make things easier for everyone but since I can not I send you all hope and hugs.
Six
November 17, 2015 at 9:58 pm | Posted in Grief, Sawyer | 8 CommentsTags: baby loss, birthday, child loss, death of a baby, Sawyer
Happy birthday sweet Sawyer!
I have no words today for how much you are loved and missed. So i am borrowing the ones from your headstone:
There are stars so far away we only see their light long after they are gone. Their memories keep shining ever brightly though their time with us is done.
I will look for you in my dreams. Love you always and forever.
Hearts
November 10, 2015 at 7:22 pm | Posted in Grief, life after loss, Love, twins | 7 CommentsTags: cardiologist, new not so normal, parenthood, Sawyer, thoughts, unexplainable
Today the twins had their check up with the pediatric cardiologist. They were both rock stars during the tests. Their hearts are structurally normal. Everything is fine. We will continue regular activity and come back for our next check up.
These are the results that I want to hear but I would be lying if I said that was all I want to hear. I know that it is not realistic, but I want someone to explain to me the cause of Sawyer’s death. I want there to be a medical answer – something I can protect the twins from ever getting. I want to understand but I know it is very possible that will never happen.
In the meantime, the doctors want to continue to monitor the twins hearts while they are still growing. Medical discoveries are being made every day. Maybe one day the channelopathy (or whatever caused Sawyer’s death) will be found.
All I know for sure is that I will continue to love the twins and protect them the best that we can. And their brothers will continue to live on in all of our hearts forever.
Remembering
October 20, 2015 at 9:36 pm | Posted in after death?, Jake, Love, Sawyer | 6 CommentsTags: child loss, death of a baby, Jake, life after loss, new not so normal, Sawyer, unexplainable, what i have learned in the 10 years since Jake died
For remembering Jake.
And many thanks for remembering Sawyer.
I am forever grateful to all who keep Jake’s and Sawyer’s memories alive.
Life goes on (as it should) but another one of the important lessons I have learned in the 10 years since Jake died is I am no longer the same person. Some call it their new normal. I do not think there is anything normal about outliving your child/children.
As a surviving parent I am left to make sense of the unexplainable. Some say that we all have purposes in life which we fulfill throughout our lifetimes. So does that mean that Jake and Sawyer just fulfilled their purpose very quickly and therefore they had very short lives?
I wonder what were their purposes? Are Evan and I supposed to help or continue their purposes? I may never know the answers to these questions but I do know that I want Jake and Sawyer to be remembered.
The other day there was a discussion in the back seat of our car about ages of the twins’ friends and their siblings. One of their friends has a brother who was born in September of 2009. Another friend has a little sister born in December of 2009. After we had dropped off their friends, Evan and I talked to the twins about their little brother, Sawyer, who was born in November of 2009.
Remembering
By Elizabeth Dent
Go ahead and mention my child,
The one that died, you know.
Don’t worry about hurting me further
The depth of my pain doesn’t show.
I’m already crying inside.
The tears that I try to hide.
I’m hurting when you just keep silent.
Pretending he didn’t exist.
I’d rather you mention my child.
Knowing that he has been missed.
You ask me how I was doing.
I say “pretty good” or “fine”.
But the healing is something ongoing.
I feel it will take a lifetime.
October 15th
October 14, 2015 at 9:32 pm | Posted in Jake, life lessons, Sawyer, traditions | 3 CommentsTags: Atlanta Walk to Remember, baby loss, child loss, death of a baby, Jake, October 15th, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, Sawyer
Tomorrow is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. As part of the day, everyone is invited to light a candle at 7 pm in all time zones, all over the world. The idea is that if everyone lights a candle at 7 pm and keeps it burning for at least 1 hour, there will be a continuous wave of light.
Today and every day I miss Jake and Sawyer but tomorrow at 7 pm we will light candles. This year I will once again hope that the light from all the candles will make the darkness of the unknown a little brighter.
Update – October 15, 2015 at 7:30 pm:
Remembering Jake and Sawyer and all the other babies gone too soon
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