Ladybug Landing

On the night before starting my weekend of Mckenna being with my ex-husband’s family, I held Mckenna as she fell asleep in my arms. I looked down at this beautiful little girl as she took deep sleep breaths; I was in awe of her perfection. How big she was getting and how I needed to treasure that moment in time because it wasn’t going to last forever. Though in that moment I did not realize that the next time she would be in my arms like that would be as her heart stopped beating……. Two by two family came to say their goodbyes, their broken hearts written on their faces. They gave her one last kiss, one last touch, one last I love you. The last two people leave the room, just Mckenna, Billy and me alone. I look down and see blood on my arm from the pressure monitor, I’m talking to her, Billy comes and tells her how much daddy loves her and kisses her forehead, then suddenly our last moments with Mckenna alive were gone. The Dr came in and told us, “we’ve been watching...

As I reflect on the summer it is hard to believe that I have survived. It has been overwhelming, sad, emotional, stressful, devastating, and heartbreaking, though it has also been a summer of empowerment, growth and change.  My summer began with the death of my brother and my BSW graduation. Both of these events happened one week apart. I was filled with such joy as I was about to complete a goal that I had set for myself, I was going to walk across that stage and receive my diploma that I worked so very hard for. Then on April 25th my brother Peter died and shook my world. This was the first death in my family since the death of Mckenna. I was full of so many emotions that I found myself questioning my grief. Why I was feeling such sadness, because after all I have lost a child so why does this hurt so much? It was an eye opening moment that started my summer. It opened my eyes to the living world again; a world that I thought wasn’t possible since the death of Mcke...