Emily Grace - Forever Loved, Missed for a Short While

Emily Grace
Forever Loved

Her name is Emily Grace and she lived. She was a tiny little human. Emily was growing tiny fingernails and the blondest eyebrows. She was hearing her world through her mother’s womb for the first time. She probably jumped in surprise when her sisters screeched with delight when they played. She was gaining weight, length, and fingerprints. She was mastering the fantastic skills of moving her eyes back and forth under her still sealed eyelids and using her mouth to practice sucking. She moved and played and snuggled into her mom. 

 And then something happened and Emily left the confines of her mother’s body and her soul entered into a glorious place. A place where she will know peace and contentment. A place of hope and beauty. A place to wait for that day when she gets her new body and her parents, siblings and family will join her. For her mother, father and all the rest of her family, this was a tragedy. For her, it was a homecoming. 

When my sister handed her to me for the first time, I could not believe how teeny tiny she was. A whopping 5 ¾ inches long and 4.3 ounces and carefully wrapped in a receiving blanket. I loved her the moment I heard my sister was pregnant with her, and I loved her even more after I laid eyes on her. Her tiny baby hands and sweet little baby toes, her little blond eyebrows and broad shoulders are etched into my memory. As her Aunt Amy said, “She had ears that were made for earrings.” She was so small and so light, I was afraid I would drop her. 

 I remember trying not to be a hysterical mess and thinking I needed to stop crying. I wanted to be strong for her mom, my precious sister. But the more I thought of how I would miss her, miss seeing her grow up, miss seeing if she got my sister’s sweet spirit and her father’s conscientiousness, the more I wept. 

I thought of how her brothers and sisters would never on earth be able to play with her, to sing to her, or to tell her she was getting on their last nerve and I cried some more. I nearly cried that horrible ugly cry when I thought of her parents and their deep, wounding grief. We, Emily’s family, will miss her and think about her and look forward to meeting her again in Heaven. 

Emily was more than a “late miscarriage”. Emily Grace, even though small, was her mother’s baby. She lived and is cherished and loved. October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day As you go about your day, remember those precious lives that were gone too soon and the families that desperately wanted and loved them.