Part of the reason I haven't blogged in the better part of a year is because I just wasn't sure how to break the news of Ethan's death.
The death of a child is just a hard thing to understand. And I'm not pretending that I have all the answers. But I do take comfort in the fact that Ethan had a great seven years in this life. He was a happy, well-loved little boy who lived every minute he had.
When I heard the news about Ethan's passing, I hopped on a plane and headed to Arizona to help my dear friend Kimber in whatever way I could. That was my plan. Go help Kimber.
Amazingly enough, while I was there scrubbing bathrooms, cleaning up backed up sewage (some might call Kimber the Job of Mesa), making lasagna and trying to make Kimber laugh, Kimber was busy comforting others, including me.
Her strength was a beautiful phenomenon to witness. It still is.
Naturally, she has "bad days," as she admitted to me just last week, but she is finding joy in her new baby, her other children and her husband. She is busy making her house a lovely home for her family to enjoy. She is doing her best to live a full life with an Ethan-shaped hole in her heart.
At this time of Thanksgiving, I am hoping I can follow Kimber's example and focus on the many things I have to be grateful for.
