Gone but *NEVER* forgotten...

another big thank you to ms. franchesca. yes, the same franchesca that did my blog layout. this time i'm thanking her for putting together Juju's Hope Collage.

in addition to Small Bird Studio, she also runs the blog Abiding Hope Collages. she creates these collages and uses this blog as a way to help bereaved parents remember their precious ones. of course once i found out about it, i knew i wanted to have one done in honor of Julius. and so i submitted the requested info, and she created his collage.

i also got a pleasant surprise a few days ago on facebook. i recently discovered and joined the blog and facebook fan page for Names On The Sidewalk. {SN: ms. tiffany, another fellow BLM {she lost her precious Genesis}, started this blog, like franchesca, as a way to honor {by writing their names on the sidewalk} the little ones that have left their mommas/families way too soon}. i remember thinking when i found the blog that i wanted to have this done for Juju, but it just kept slipping my mind to put in my request. then i got a fb notification that i had been tagged in a photo. and to my very pleasant surprise, i received a pic of Juju's name, so beautifully written, on the sidewalk...

i can not say enough good things about all of the fellow BLM women i have met {virtually or in person}. never in my life have i experienced this kind of love and support from essentially strangers. they have reached out to me, and let me know that they understand my pain and that they are walking with me on this long, hard journey that i am facing. though i have never met a majority of these women in real life, the bond that is formed with those that have experienced the pain of losing a child, is a very tight bond {it's like a sisterhood}.

none of us signed up to walk this road. none of us chose to be here. but this is our reality. we are bereaved parents - we have all had our hearts ripped out. and we are forced to continue on in life as incomplete beings. none of us can do it alone - i know i would be in a much darker place, mentally, if not for the support of all of these women. so i guess the saying is true...there *is* strength in numbers...