It’s Mother’s Day today. For most of my Mother’s Days, I’ve found it to be more of a sad day than a happy one. Of course, I am grateful for the kids I have and this life of motherhood. But days like today tend to remind me more of the one who I don’t get to mother my son Roman. I’ve only held him once, for just a few short hours. When I held him, it felt like he was with us, just asleep in my arms, just as any newborn would be. But as the hours went on, and he never cried out for me, never yawned and stretched, and his body became noticebly colder in my arms, reality quickly settled back in, and the pain would wash over me again. I desperately wished to be able to mother him in those moments (and every moment since). The truth is, while I am forever Roman’s mom, I will never have the opportunity to mother Roman.
Read MoreI have written a lot of birthday posts over the past two months (fun fact, 5 out of our 6 kids’ due dates were within a month span! ). And today is our son Roman’s 4th heavenly birthday. Sometimes it feels extra tough to have his birthday fall right in the middle of the holidays and the majority of our family’s birthdays. It’s such a season of celebration in our house, and yet, we have the most profound grief right at the forefront of our minds.
Read MoreToday Roman would be 3 years old. Usually for the kids’ birthday blog posts, I’d be going through my phone, picking out all of the memorable photos and videos from their last year. But I don’t have anything to show of him for the past year. Instead, I’m just left with my memories of the holes we felt this year and my tears.
Read MoreMy Sweet Roman,
You would be 2.5 now. Of course I think about you and miss you daily, but this past month my heart has ached so much for you. I think in some part it is because your littlest brother was born, and the birth and newborn days always stir up emotions in me, as I only knew you as a newborn.
Read MoreRoman has been on my mind so much the last few weeks. Well, that is more so than normal. I usually think about him on a daily basis, but lately its been all consuming; everything reminds me of him. Sometimes the thoughts are sweet moments, as Fynn tells Jackson about his other brother, and sometimes the pain and heartache threatens to overwhelm me.
I’ve decided that I will just start writing some short posts, as these moments and thoughts come to me…
Read MoreRoman spent his first birthday in Heaven on November 27th this year. The days and weeks leading up to this day were increasingly hard. Instead of prepping, planning, and choosing a theme for my son’s first birthday party, we were trying to decide how to meaningfully honor him on a blustery Tuesday morning. What sort of traditions would we want to set in place, knowing that we will continue these until our last days?
Read MoreOn November 26, 2017, at 38 weeks and 3 days, I felt Roman move inside my womb for what would be the last time. Every night around 11:00pm, Roman would get the hiccups and perform a circus routine, and that night was no different. So just like any other night, I fell asleep to the peaceful lull of his hiccups.
Read MoreNovember 27th, 2017 is a day that will forever remain etched on my mind and my heart and physically on my body. That was the day that we had to say goodbye to our third child Roman. In the 365 days since I have grieved, some days more than others. My grief remains even as I write these words. What an interesting emotion to experience. We all have experienced it at some point in our lives and at varying degrees. One of my favorite authors Joan Didion explains her grief after the sudden loss of her husband of four decades. She writes:
Read MoreShortly after we came home from the hospital, I was scrolling through the pictures that Ron had taken on his camera. This photo immediately stuck out to me. First, he captured the pure joy I was feeling in that moment of meeting my son Jackson for the first time. But secondly, it also reminded me of another picture Ron had captured just 10 months before.
Read MoreToday I thought I'd blog about what it's like to be pregnant after a stillbirth. Of course, we are overjoyed and thrilled to be expecting again. Those are the parts that people see on social media, so you already know the joy that we are experiencing this pregnancy. But it doesn't mean that it is an easy journey to go through pregnancy again, so I thought I'd shed some light on our struggles these past 6 months.
Read MoreSweet Roman,
Today you would have been 6 months old. Instead, you have spent the past 6 months in Heaven. Today, Aly asked if you were growing in Heaven. I too wonder and dream about what you are doing and what it's like for you. All I know is that is better than anything we can ever dream of.
Read MoreToday Roman would have been 4 months old. I don't have any profound thoughts to share, but I just feel like writing today as I am so deep in my sadness. Most of the time, I like to blog when I have my thoughts somewhat together, but today I'll let you get a glimpse of a heavily grieving Mama...
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