GGAV Stories & Art

We took a family trip around Thanksgiving a few months before he died. My parents had joined us for the holiday and we have so many pictures and memories of that weekend, it’s one of our favorites.

On the six-month anniversary of her death, we spent a whole day making a bamboo raft out of natural materials we found on the beach around us. We covered the raft with hibiscus flowers.

Recently, I’ve been able to think about happy memories with Molly and not crumble. I remember a visit to the zoo with her. At one point, she started crawling on all fours like the bears we saw. It was so cute. It’s a good feeling when I can think of her and be happy.

I see my son and daughter in the pages of a children’s book called Maybe: A Story About the Endless Potential in All of Us. My daughter’s Chinese zodiac is a rooster and Miles’ is a pig…

“She loved her owl blanket and her pacifier. She also loved dogs, dancing, swimming, and smiling. Before she could walk, she would crawl to the ocean. It didn’t scare her to hear and see the waves crashing around her.

Kennedie and I have a very close bond, it helped me get through so much. I don’t talk about losing Kennedie with my other three kids. Sometimes we get in the car and go for a drive together. That’s how we process our feelings – we drive and we listen to a CD of songs from her funeral.

I was having a rough day and I was so upset. The sun was out, it was a nice day, and a ladybug landed on the driver side window. I think it was Kai telling me it was going to be okay. I don’t like bugs very much, but ladybugs are different. They’re quiet, they don’t make any noise just like Kai. He’s my pride and joy.

We hope you see the small things we do down here for you. We do something manageable for us each year on your birthday and on your Angel Day, too. We light lanterns in your cemetery. It’s such a peaceful cemetery. There are lots of trees and the birds are always singing..

Instead of being alone, I have imagined the ancestors – the grandmothers and great grandmothers with their love and wisdom there with me, helping to hold the space and weight of life and of death. It’s helped me a lot to have that revised mental image.