Brace yourselves, for this is not an amusing or happy post...
I read this morning that a woman who posts on my birth bulletin board lost her son last night in a tragic drowning accident.
I don't know this woman, and have only communicated with her via indirect posts on our board. But I am simply gutted right now, and the tears keep coming, even after I think I've gotten them back under control. I've read stories of this woman's pregnancy, her son's birth, and the joys and trials of his first year. I feel like I know these people, and yet there is nothing I can do for them other than share my condolences, which I have done.
I cannot imagine what her family is going through right now. To lose a child at ANY age, let alone so young...? How does one cope? I don't know how a parent begins to deal with something like that - I just don't.
And part of my sadness is my own renewed fear. It's a selfish thought, but what if something like this were to happen to my family? Ever since Monkey entered our lives, my husband and I have become so much more sensitive to tragic news involving children. It's not like stories of this kind didn't touch us before - they did. But we just didn't know... We hadn't experienced the joys of parenthood, the all-encompassing love for a child, and we hadn't had to contemplate such a loss. And the mere thought alone is devastating, enough to reduce me to tears. The actuality? Simply unimaginable.
So if you're reading this, I'm posting this not to make you sad, or to make you cry. I'm posting this because I feel myself wanting to express my immense sadness, and also wanting to take some small step to memoriize this young life, ended far too soon. And I want to remind us all to hold our young ones extra close tonight, and every night, and to treasure what we have. We are so fortunate, and we should remind ourselves of this every single day.
Rest in peace, Reed.
6/17/07 - 9/8/08
4 comments:
Oh, Kristin, this was a wonderful post. I got all choked up and just lost it at the last couple of lines. To see Reed's birth and death dates written out like that, it just hits home again how young he was. That's just not fair. Can you imagine how SCARED he must have been in his last moments??? You know, I am also thinking about Sarah and her husband's relationship. I don't know if it's taboo to say this, but I can't even imagine how that would affect a marriage. Can you? I feel so terrible for everyone involved. :(
I told my husband about this tonight, and it took him a minute to realize Reed's age. I think when I tell him about my "pregnancy board," he thinks it's just a mass of pregnant woman and mothers, and doesn't realize that the people I post with most are people who are so much like us, with children born within about a month of each other. To hear Reed's age really made him do a double-take... There's just too much of an "it could happen to us" feeling.
I do hope Sarah and her husband can work through this, especially with the guilt it sounds like he is carrying. The death is hard enough, but can you imagine feeling that you could have done something to prevent it? Sarah does seem like a very strong woman, and we know she has an incredible role model in her mother, so I have to believe that they will find a way through this somehow...
Very, very well said, Kristin.
And Beverly, I can't even go there. Thinking about how scared and confused he must have been--you just can't let yourself go there.
I hope their marriage survives this, too.
Kristin, your post is so true. I am sitting here at work and still am having a tough time digesting all this information. I try to comprehend but I am still in shock.
Beverly, I agree with Anabel, I don't even want to know what Reed was feeling the last moments of his life. I truly believe that God cared for him during that time.
I hope that their marriage survives this tragic event.
-EL2
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