Wild + Three

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday sweet Norah,
Happy birthday to you!!

W I L D + T H R E E

You belong among the wildflowers, somewhere you feel free.
– Tom Petty, Wildflowers

Our little wildflower girl. Yours is an untamed life planted not in any kind of mannerly row, but in a hidden, marvelous pattern known only to you and to God – impossibly perfect in its imperfection. No planter, no garden, no field is capable of containing your spirit; not even earth was able to hold you for very long. 

Your wild beauty continues to break through the layers of gravel marking this valley road, finding its way back to our aching hearts over and over again. These little glimpses remind us of the fierce love and indescribable joy that await us when our days on earth come to an end – a precious lighthouse of hope.

While a deeply-rooted tree can grow and thrive for well over 100 years, wildflowers come and go with the seasons, following a schedule written by the one who lit the sun.

This past year the finality of your death has been magnified by your sister’s life. Conversations about Lora’s growth and development fill my days, but sometimes I want to shout from the rooftops that you existed too, that I am a mama of two little girls and that this should be my second time navigating these milestones. My body craves the sound of your name like it thirsts for water.

Last year was both tough and beautiful, navigating the growing pains of grief amidst the constant juxtaposition that is life after death. I truly believe you don’t move on from grief, you move on with it — it becomes integrated into your daily existence, absorbed into your soul, helping to mold the person you’re becoming. Its weight doesn’t become lighter, you become stronger from carrying it.

There was so much beauty woven into last year too, Norah: telling your story at the Ronald McDonald House Gala, fundraising for both RMH and Love, Norah, gathering fellow loss mamas together for coffee, and more.

Your story continues to speak to the hearts of fellow hurting families. Something as small as death hasn’t stopped you from changing the world.

Now, I know your Grandma has the perfect heavenly party planned for you, sweet girl – a task she is proud to take on. 

We’re going to keep your birthday pretty simple here: spending time with family and friends, visiting the cemetery, and celebrating your life by loving each other well.

We’re also selling shirts and mugs to raise money for Love, Norah — an initiative which provides no-cost doula birth services to families in hardship. (Read more about Love, Norah here)

Shirts are $25, mugs are $15, and all proceeds go directly to supporting hurting families. This year, the backs of the shirts feature the names of other sweet babes gone too soon, along with hearts representing unnamed losses.

We will never stop telling your story, sweet girl.
3 is your lucky number and I can’t wait to see what you and God have planned.

Happy birthday, Norah.
We love you to the moon and back.
XOXO