Nine years ago right now, this minute, I held our healthy baby girl Hannah in my arms. She had been born an hour earlier, and I marveled at her perfection. She was alert, bright, had already latched on a little, and while exhausted from the labor and delivery, Greg and I were over the moon.
It wasn’t until a few hours later that our 16-month journey through seizures, hospitalizations and her graceful passing would begin. Those first hours we took for granted. Those first hours were our starting point on the immeasurable love we feel for our children. Those first hours are still one of the highlights of my life.
And yet here we are, 9 years later. Hannah is still with us every single day. Every beautiful sunset is because of her. Every butterfly that crosses our path is her coming for a visit (she even brings a butterfly friend to play with sometimes). Mimi and Wes know her as well as Greg and I do…through stories, photos, and her uncanny ability to show up at just the right moment in nature. And for me, she shows up in song all of the time. Both songs from her life, like Annie’s Song and Here Comes the Sun, to new songs that weren’t even written during her lifetime like Something Just Like This and Can’t Stop this Feeling.
Because I know deep sorrow, I also know unspeakable joy. Hannah’s short life, and every milestone since then are more vivid – more textured – because of the extraordinary journey we started 9 years ago.
Happy Birthday, baby girl. We love you.
