Happy Thanksgiving

We only got one Thanksgiving with Hudson. It was wonderful. I love going back to these pictures and memories over and over again, because they really show Hudson blossoming into the little person we knew and adored before she was so cruelly taken from us six months later. If you haven’t seen them before, I hope you’ll go look at them now. And if you have seen them before, they are so worth seeing again.

Of course, I spent a good portion of today remembering her. Ed, Jackson, and I took a long walk down the gravel lane from my in-laws’ house to the road, Jackson napping in the Ergo, Ed and I awash in our memories of our beautiful girl and wondering what she would be like today.

But thankfully, unlike last year, I also spent some time today snuggling with my precious son, looking forward to the adventures we’ll have with him here for many years to come, and being so grateful for the beautiful gift he has been to my life.

This morning, I was the first one up and I went into my dad’s kitchen for breakfast. He recently printed a ton of family photos and had taped many of them on the cabinets above his refrigerator. As I stepped toward the fridge, I saw that one of the photos had fallen on the floor and was facing up at me. It was this one, taken in her Christmas dress a few weeks after Thanksgiving:

It’s so hard not to focus on what’s missing. She will always be missing. And she will always be missed. But I am so grateful for so much today, not least of which is how much she remains with us.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.