Today was Hannah's memorial service. As you can probably imagine, I thought about her a lot throughout the day today, and said extra prayers for her mom and dad and baby sister. For a little girl that I had never met, she made quite an impression on me; I couldn't help but smile and laugh when I saw her through her mother's eyes. Rach made a special request that we all wear our sparkly tiaras and flowing dresses and festive jewelry in honor of her special angel, and a lot of us did. I actually have a tiara at work, a pink one with feathers and gaudy glitter, but it's so festive and fun that although I couldn't wear it during the day, it never left my desk. I also had my toes on display in her honor, wearing my sparkly pink nail polish. I think Hannah would have thought it was pretty.
One of the things I love about their family is how they take such pleasure in God's gifts in nature, and share their wonder with their friends and family. There is a pond on campus where I work, and every spring, two swans are brought in to raise their little family. To keep the swans from being lonely, there are also numerous ducks and other birds that love to swim out on the water and take naps in the afternoon sunlight. I was able to take a walk along the pond today, and I took the time to watch the ducklings trail behind their mama, dunking their beaks and flapping their feathers. As I should there, taking it all in, I could easily picture Hannah bending down and patting ther fuzzy little heads and giving them reassuring advice, like any big sister would.
I know she will be watching over her sister Lily as she grows up and discovers these wonders herself, and she'll be laying her head on her dad's shoulder to let him know she's there with him, always. I also know that when Rach is crying, Hannah will somehow share with her mom a remembered moment of joy, or laughter, and love. And, thanks to Hannah, I know that I can be proud to let my inner diva shine. Hugs and kisses, little Monkey. You will always make the world a brighter place.
Labels: Hannah, love, remembering
posted by Stacy~ at 7/23/2007 06:00:00 PM
Perfect, Stace. Just perfect.
byAh, Stace. I just got my faucet (some people call them eyes) down to a trinkle and now the damn things are flooding again.
byThat was just beautiful and perfect.
What a lovely thing to do, wear sparkles. I don't think I could have coped. I can barely swallow just reading this.
byI LOVE it, Stace! It is the most perfect post! I'm feeling very uplifted at the moment. Have ya'll seen the cyber-love surrounding me today? Holy cow!
byThank you MK and Julie. It felt perfect yesterday - the sky was so blue and there was a nice breeze. Even though I'm far away from VA, it just seemed like the perfect Hannah day.
byToni, it has been hard, but Rach has been amazing, and we all wanted to honor Hannah in whatever small way we could. I think we did pretty well.
Rach {{{{{hugs}}}}} We do love you, and your family. Thank you so much for sharing her with us. I know others in blogland who ask me to send their condolences and hugs as well. Little Hannah has brought so many people together.
That was just beautiful. Sad and very touching. :-(
byBeautifully said.
by