Top Ten Things Henry Taught Me...#3

10. Anything worth having is worth working for.
9.  Enjoy the little things.
8.  Every child I interact with is someone's "Henry."
7.  To be a mother is to watch your heart walk around outside your body.
6.  There truly are angels on earth.
5.  Everyone is fighting some sort of battle we know nothing about.
4.  Time is a gift.
3.  Death is not the end of a relationship.





As I was thinking about this lesson, I was looking at quotes about death and this one from Mitch Albom in Tuesdays with Morrie caught my eye: “Death ends a life, not a relationship.” Death is, simply, the end of a life.  Everyone's life ends at some point...some earlier, some later.  But although one's life may end, the relationships endure.  Henry may be gone, as is Brady, but I am still a mother.  None of my grandparents are living, but I am still a granddaughter.  My mother died, but I am still her daughter.  Love does not end with death, nor does the relationship you had with the deceased.


This is in some ways reassuring.  Henry is not here, not in my arms, but he is my son.  I carried him, birthed him, nurtured him and loved him.  And I will love him until the day I meet my death, when I will get to see him again.  Henry lives in my heart, his daddy's heart, the hearts of everyone who loved him.  I can't call my mom on the phone (which isn't so bad...she usually screened her calls anyway!) but I can still talk to her.  I can sit in my sunroom, and feel her presence.  She lives on in my heart, and in the stories that I will tell my children about their nana.  We never got a chance to know Brady, but I'm still his mama too.  I carried him for nearly 23 weeks, heard his heartbeat, saw his perfect little body, felt his flutters.  His story lives on through us as well.


Although we have all had loved ones die, we haven't truly lost them.  They continue to watch over us, reside in our hearts, and live on in stories and memories.  They are with us every moment of every day, even though we can't see them.  And for me, and my beliefs, I believe that someday I will see these loved ones again.  That doesn't make death and grief easy, but it is reassuring to know that although our loved ones have gone, the relationship endures.

2.  You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
1.  Motherhood is the best job I could ever hope for.