Grateful for what I have….

TRIGGER…this will talk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)…please don’t read if this is upsetting to you….

I just did an interview for work…and I must say it brought a lot of things in perspective. I have omitted the names because the article hasn’t run yet…but here’s my intro:

“When the parents took their infant daughter, who was born on Aug. 1 to her first day of daycare, they had no idea the day would end in tragedy.
Nov. 15 was the day both parents had training at Taco Bell, where they are employed. That morning Nov. 15, their infant, and her older sister , 3, were dropped off at daycare. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary — but it would be the last time the parents would see their baby smile. Their baby died that afternoon from what authorities are saying is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).”

I don’t have many other words than that right now. And the story has stopped there for the moment. We all just get up and assume everything is going to be ok. Nothing prepares us for something like this. The story above is a probable case of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Now, the lives of these parents are in pieces. They held it together during the interview…remained strong….later the mother admitted that she’s been nervous about the interview because she knew she’d have to face what she’s trying avoid — all the details…all the events. As I watched the mother and father pull out the bag that they were given at the funeral home — the bag that held the guest book and the paperwork. I can’t imagine the pain and how that would feel to pull that out…knowing that is from your baby’s funeral. I felt the parents’ pain so much during that moment. It was a very pointed moment…very painful….

This is indeed a tragedy for the parents and a tragedy for everybody who knew this little girl. A reminder to every parent who lost a child…of the pain and heartache losing a child brings. Nothing will ever bring that child back. BUT….through generosity of the community this young couple lives in, their bills are being paid through donation cans they have put around town. We can all help. It won’t bring their baby back, but perhaps it will allow them time to grieve instead of worrying of whether they are going to be able to provide for their other child, who is 3.

On the way back to the paper from the interview, I did shed a few tears — but those tears were not for me…it wasn’t my pain. It was the parents’ pain that I felt. Yeah…those tears are for them…

Nothing I say here can make it better for them…I think this post is more for me…

Cherish what you have….we have no idea what is going to happen next…

BN