See You Soon Ava!

Hearts are breaking all over the world tonight at the loss of sweet Ava. Reese's Aicardi sister went to be with the Lord today, very unexpectedly. It hurts so badly for a number of reasons. I feel like I knew Ava, although we had never met, because of her mom, Paige's, blog, My Only Sunshine. Paige is an excellent writer who drew me in with her humor, but especially her positive lease on life and her incredible love for Ava. She doted on her, snapped pictures at every opportunity, and cheered her on at each milestone, big or small. So I felt like I was a part of their lives, loving Ava and admiring Paige. Ava was healthy and beautiful and strong. This really was a huge surprise. Sometimes your kids say what you are afraid to say, what wouldn't be appropriate to say out loud, but what you were thinking. They don't know better! When you hear it, it makes you cringe because what is being said is "not allowed", but then you realize it was exactly what you were thinking. Tonight, Mia inquired why I was crying. I told her about Ava. She burst into tears and yelled, "I don't want Reese to die!" "It's not Reese", I comforted her. "It's not Reese." But I guess some of my pain comes from wanting to yell the same thing.