Smile Because it Happened

This weekend was my favorite 4th of July celebration to date. My whole family was able to stay at Faith’s Lodge in Wisconsin ( Faith's Lodge Website ). Faith’s Lodge is a ginormous cabin on 20 acres of land, and it is a place for families who are faced with the challenge of having sick children, or for families who have suffered the loss of a child. My sister Prinna and her husband Chris lost my niece Sophia to SIDS in 2007. Since then, they have been very active in raising funds for Faith’s Lodge, because it was such a special place for them to visit after losing Sophia.

So this weekend, we all got together and celebrated Sophia’s life with the dedication of a bridge in her name. Fun? Absolutely. But having my whole family together can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. There were almost 20 of us, plus 8 kids, with Chris’ family and my own. There were just some insane moments. There were costume contests, poker games, dance contests, slip n’ slides, fishing, kids were melting down left and right, crying. My little brother got a fishing hook stuck in his finger and minor surgery had to be performed in the Sun Room. My brothers and my boyfriend put on a truly spectacular fireworks show, complete with music. And there was lots of food, lots of beer, and lots of…well, everything. It was a crazy good time.

But there were 2 moments in particular that I’ll treasure for the rest of my life from this weekend. The first was when Prinna and I randomly took a paddle boat ride around the pond. Just the two of us, there wasn’t really much talking. Just kind of quiet. Peaceful. We picked flowers from the lily pads (which, oops, is like totally illegal I guess), and just sort of chilled. It was immensely important to me to share that tiny moment with Prinna at Faith’s Lodge. I felt honored to be there with her, and it really made me happy.

The second moment was when I was tasked with decorating the bridge before the ribbon cutting ceremony. I went to town with the yellow crepe paper, purple ribbons, and balloons. I was down at the bridge alone, and there could not have been more mosquitoes, the threat of ticks was everywhere, and it was a zillion degrees. But there I was, standing on the bridge by myself. Thinking of Sophia. Missing her. And I looked around me, and there were dozens and dozens of rocks that parents paint for their beloved children and put them around the bridge. Names of babies, dates of their passing, special words from their parents. I didn’t know any of them, but nestled by a tree was Sophia’s. Among all those rocks, all those names, I did know one of them. I just missed her so much.

But then the ribbon cutting ceremony started, and the whole group of us stood together and remembered Sophia, and honored her life. It was incredibly moving. I thought, as I looked around, how lucky I am. Twelve hours ago, all these people were dancing around a room together, laughing, singing, and being together. And it was all because of Sophia. We all came together for her, and we had fun. We cried, yes, but we celebrated too.

I encourage you, dear reader, to find moments like this. To look around and remember how special the people in your life are. And when you find yourself on a bridge, sad and alone, remember that you can cross over it. And my hope for you is that you’ll find a whole mess of people who make you smile.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Happy B-day, America. You rock. Thanks for the freedom. :)