Needed Reminder

Well, we think we may have a lead on the journal, but neither of us wants to get our hopes up too much just yet. Hopefully we’ll know more tomorrow. Keep sending all your good vibrations this way. We’re due some good luck, I hope.

But whether we find it or not (and I really hope we do), the kindnesses shown to us during the past two days have been astounding and humbling, not unlike those we received during the days we spent in the hospital with Hudson and the days and weeks afterward. Hundreds of our friends (and consequently their friends) posted notes and comments on their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, contacted friends or relatives who work for Southwest, and offered us lots of good wishes and moral support. Dozens of Southwest employees at all levels of the company who don’t even know us have been making personal calls on our behalf so that this journal would not just become another lost and found claim.

I can’t speak for Ed (if I had lost my computer and this blog did not exist as a record of all that I have written during this past four months, I probably would have done a lot worse than kick a hole in the wall) although I know he is also incredibly grateful for everyone’s efforts. But for myself (and for others who have shared their thoughts about this with me), these past two days have given me a much-needed opportunity to reflect on Hudson’s lesson of One Good Thing. If you follow the blog at all, you know that the last several weeks have been rough. I told one friend that I felt like Winnie the Pooh with the little black rain cloud following me everywhere. It seemed like we just couldn’t get a break.

And then, with another whirlwind of emails, phone calls, Facebook messages, and Twitter posts, I am reminded. Again. About how much we are loved. About how much goodness there is in the world. About how people reveal themselves again and again to be kind, compassionate, and selfless.

One of our most lasting memories and lessons from Hudson’s death came when Ed’s friend Lisa posted on his wall on the last day of Hudson’s life, the day we had thousands of people around the world hoping and praying for a miracle for her. Lisa said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that she had spent all day hoping for a miracle for Hudson, and then that evening, in a quiet moment, it came to her that Hudson’s life itself was the miracle. Indeed.

In much the same way, whether we ultimately find Ed’s journal or not, these past two days have themselves been their own form of miracle. Not only have we been enveloped and uplifted yet again by love and kindness, but 5,608 new people have been exposed to Hudson’s message by visiting the blog for the first time (that is exponentially larger than the average day, where about 500 new visitors stop by). Even if only a fraction of those new visitors stopped to read more of her story than was visible on yesterday’s lost journal entry, even if only a fraction found some meaning in their visits here (and I have received many messages and comments indicating that they have), I am grateful. As I’ve said many times before, that meaning is the only consolation I can take from my sweet daughter’s death.

Lately, I’ve been really struggling with finding the One Good Things under my little black rain cloud. In the last two days, you have all made it so easy. Thank you.