Yesterday was two years since Ron passed away. Leah will often talk about her Pappy, making statements that seem out of the blue such as "Can Pappy see us now? Why can't I see him?" or "My Pappy died. I miss him. Remember when I was a baby and he just wanted to hold me and hold me?" We're currently experiencing quite a bit of upheaval at the Russell household, and Leah has been particularly sensitive the last two weeks. I had not mentioned the anniversary of Pappy's death to her, yet yesterday evening, as I was trying to get her into bed, we had the following conversation:
Leah: Mommy, I can't sleep. My insides are broken.
Me: What do you mean your insides?
L: Umm (clearly struggling to find a way to phrase it so Mommy would understand) ... mommy, my heart is broken because my Pappy died.
M: Oh, Leah ....
So we called Daddy to share this sentiment with him. And then had the following conversation:
L: We should send something to Pappy in the sky.
M: Like what?
L: A balloon. I want to send Pappy a balloon in the sky.
As my friend Debi says, children are so close to the angels. I have been searching for a way to recognize the anniversary of Ron's passing (and his birthday and other special days) with the children as they grow older ... it's important to mark those anniversaries and discuss our memories and look at pictures ... and now we'll release some balloons for Pappy. Thank you, darling Leah, for your sensitive heart and breath-taking insight.
1 comment:
it's too early in the morning to be crying. leah is such a sweet soul - which we already knew, but which she has proven especially this past month. i love this idea and am stealing it for ryan and me. :-) i have a feeling the holidays are going to be much harder for us than the past few weeks have been.
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