Yesterday was a great day (and that's an understatement).
I had the opportunity to turn some dear blog friends into something a little more...
I got to hug necks (finally), enjoy great food and conversation, and turn a handful of wonderful people into REAL LIFE FRIENDS!
(Creamy Potato Soup)
(My Southwest Black Bean Burger)
(Eli enjoying his food)
(Ansley eating LEMONS!)
I'll admit I wouldn't have had the courage to walk through the restaurant doors to meet everyone if my husband hadn't spent the entire two hour drive assuring me everything was going to be alright. I'm so thankful Joseph came with me for support and encouragement. I was so nervous. Going to meet everyone was a HUGE leap for me.
I expected awkward silences, personality clashes, and me ending up feeling pretty silly by the end of our lunch...
MAN WAS I WAY OFF BASE!
I guess when you join the "baby loss" club, it doesn't matter what you do or don't have in common... What is important, is that the man or woman you are sitting next to misses their baby just as much as you miss yours.
I can't tell you how nice it was for all of us to not only sit around and get to know each other, but to be able to spend hours sitting around talking about our sweet babies. For those couple of hours, I didn't feel so alone in this scary new world.
Pictures were passed around (I wish I had remembered to get a picture of Holly's scrapbooks. They were amazing!)...
Special animals and mementos were shared...
I even managed to get Celia on the phone so she could talk to everyone! (We missed you Celia)
It was a really great day.
Bittersweet, but great.
A thought kept resounding in my head as I was surrounded by all these wonderful people.
"None of us would be here today, or even know each other, if our babies hadn't died." Instead of letting that thought rob me from my joy, I chose to look at it as a gift from our babies because they couldn't be here...
Thank you Wyatt, Carleigh, Kaden, Amiee, Logan, and Grace for brining all of your mommy's and daddy's together. You may not have been there physically, but you were there in every other way.
And to Mary, Nicole, Holly, Mary Ellen, Jenny and family... Thanks for such a terrific day!
23 comments:
A beautiful post about beautiful parents and their gorgeous babies. Hugs to each and every one of you. xxxx
That's awesome. I'm glad you had such a special day. :))
That sounds like a wonderful way to spend time with people. It is amazing how people who you know on the internet can be such great friends and when you meet in real life it feels like you've always known each other. I have a group of friends like this (we haven't lost babies-we got married in the same month)
Anyway, I am so happy to hear that you were able to meet those wonderful families.
That is so cool that you were able to meet in person. I know how good it feels just to be in the company with someone that "gets it". I know how comforting it is to NOT have to explain or defend yourself. I'm so happy for all of you!!!
Hugs,
Trisha
simply an amazing moment I am sure. How wonderful.
How wonderful those moments must've been for you.
I'm trying to type through my tears...which is rather difficult right now. This is so beautiful! I'm so happy that you all got to meet and hug and share and remember....GOD is SO AMAZING!!!!
I so wish I could be there with all of you. What a great event!
What a wonderful thing to do! It looks as if you all had a good time remembering your babies. xx
Danielle! How so very special. Thank you for taking pictures and sharing with all of us.
I hope you can meet with these new friends often.
Hugs,
Traci
Danielle, You described yesterday percectly! It was a wonderful day! I was so nervous too and had all the images of personality clashes and awkward silences. I have to say I felt so comfortable with everyone though. It was almost like family, like we had known each other for years. So glad that we got together, and can't wait until we can do it again.
This post brought tears to my eyes. I guess it really made me realize how alone I really am in this journey. I don't have close friends or family who care as much as those strangers do for you. I am so happy you have such special people close to your heart. *hugs*
Too bad I don't live closer to y'all - what a great chance for y'all to all meet and get together!
~Kimberly
Danielle, that is amazing!!! It sounds like you'll had a wonderful time. This was definitely gift from your babies!
ps I think me and your beautiful Ansley would get along just fine... she eats lemons like I do! Now I am craving one! =)
xx
I have to say that reading this I had goosebumps all over, how wonderful for all of you to meet.
Thank you for sharing this with me. It does my heart good to see all of you, with the same loss, meeting each other and becoming friends. Beautiful post. God Bless.
So glad you had a nice time. I bet that was so neat. I know I would like to meet so many people from on here. I just know that One day soon we will all see each other in Heaven. Thanx for sharing your day with all of us. :) {{HUGS}}
Caroline
That is a gift.
You've got some great pics!!! It was so wonderful to meet you all (finally)!! I wasn't sure how it would go either but it went GREAT! Better than I expected, really!! You're right that there is just a common bond that connects us all. I wish we had more time. And thank you about my scrapbooks. ;)
It WAS a wonderful day. It was so hard walking through those door (late as always...hehe) and introducing myself to "strangers" but as soon as I saw all your faces I knew I was with women that were of one heart. It was great to get to see all of you IRL. I look forward to us doing it again and maybe you and I can do lucnh more often since we are closer. Thanks for posting the pictures!! They are GREAT!
I wish I could have gone, but my hubby wouldn't let me drive that far. I bet there was a lot of great conversation.
I must admit...I'm super jealous! How and where did ya'll decide to meet up? That's awesome! I hope to meet some of my blog friends someday too!
Hello. I came across your site from Caring for Carleigh; I think the lostbaby mom group is such an amazing idea! I cried reading this post, just thinking about how great it must have been, and how wonderful it must have felt..
Im going to follow your blog, you seem like a really sweet person..Not to mention, you are very strong.
It was so nice to meet you and everyone else. ((hugs))
my email is nickelpicklemom at gmail dot com
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