Heartwarming mail

Well this week has been a somewhat stressful week, and I've unfortunately found myself disappointed in people quite often. Here's my little bullet list of the current stressors in my life (kind of arranged from serious to silly):

• Hailey's passing


• My dad's passing (and dealing with paperwork and things associated)


• Difficulty getting a referral from our insurance to meet with a geneticist (we finally got it!!)


• Dealing with the owner of the house we are renting who simply makes no sense to me (we keep getting phone calls to show the house since she's put it on the market even though we have 13 months left on our lease - I don't appreciate being bombarded with phone calls and the idea of strangers looking around our house and in Hailey's room so soon after her passing)


• Struggling to lose this last 10 lbs of my baby weight (I'm working out 5 days a week and taking Opie on walks and eating healthy yet I still manage not to lose weight!)

Every day I obviously have a choice as to whether I let those things and others) stress me out or not. Thankfully God is really helping me deal with the first two listed. And thankfully, the third stressor has been solved. And the last two are really insignificant in the grand scheme of things...but unfortunately, this list of stressors has gotten the best of me a few times this week.

So, when I received a package in the mail from my brother today, it was just what I needed after having a somewhat stressful and discouraging day. It was very heartwarming mail - just what I need in the midst of the coldness I'd been encountering this week.

My brother secretly had been mailing out letters to people he knew explaining what had happened to Hailey and how the Children's Hospital helped us so much and asking them to prayerfully consider donating to the Children's Hospital in Hailey's name (this was one of the organizations we chose to have people give to at her memorial service). He, like me, wanted to do something productive with our grief and remembering Hailey's life that would make a difference. And he did it.

In his package he shared with me a letter he sent out to people requesting donations amongst a couple of other things. And the most special item in the package to me, was this plaque:

Of course, seeing and reading the plaque made tears well up in my eyes. It warmed my heart that my brother did this for his niece. It warmed my heart to know that people are choosing to remember and honor Hailey's life in this way. It warmed my heart that this remembrance of her goes to a good cause and will help others. It warmed my heart that there are caring, compassionate people out there and not everyone is difficult and cold-hearted.

It's good to have a reminder like this to bring my perspective out of this pessimism I've been feeling lately.

I thank my brother for raising awareness about Hailey and doing something to honor her and help others. Words can't express how much it means to me...