There is not one day that I don’t think about you (usually many times in a day). ⁣
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For 14 years and 3 days, I’ve thought about you. My daughter. My second born. My angel baby. ⁣
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I know deep in my heart that this is the way that it was meant to be but it doesn’t mean that I don’t miss you, think about you and wish you were here with us doing life in physical form. You’d have a blast with all your sisters. ⁣
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I accept our journey. ⁣
I’ve grown because of it. ⁣
It changed me in a good way. ⁣
It made me stronger. ⁣
It made me realize that the only one standing in the way of my dreams is me. ⁣
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Because of our journey, I appreciate my life even more. ⁣
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But, that doesn’t mean that the grief has disappeared. It just means that it has changed. ⁣
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It’s not raw like it used to be. ⁣
It doesn’t sneak up on me anymore. ⁣
It’s apart of me now and who I’m being. ⁣
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My joy of having you will always outweigh the grief. I choose for it to be this way. ⁣
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I choose to honor your life by living mine. ⁣
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I choose to not let the grief define my journey but fuel it in a beautiful way. ⁣
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For those of you who have lost someone close to you know this…⁣
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This journey is yours. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. There is only your way. ⁣
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Your loved one that’s passed wants you to live on (which is different than moving on). ⁣
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It will get easier. ⁣
The pain will change. ⁣
The grief will ease. ⁣
There will be more joy found in each day. ⁣
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You will get through this. You are strong enough. Even at your weakest moments, you are strong because your grief shows the strength of your love. ⁣
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You are not alone. ⁣
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We all stand with you. ⁣

~ Jill

You can read the whole story in my book When the Meaning is Lost.