A woman who inspires me, a woman who inspires me, a woman who inspires me… I’ve been thinking about this writing assignment for a few days now and I’ve been having a hard time choosing just one woman. There are women who inspire me in different ways every single day. Some are inspiring mothers, writers, friends, businesspeople, athletes, actors, neighbors, grandmothers, activists, lactivists, gardeners… How do I choose just one? And then I received an email newsletter from Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope and I had my answer.
Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope is a support site that is “putting a face on miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss.” Women are able to submit their stories and photos to the Faces Gallery. The creator of the site, Kristin Cook, lost her little girl in May due to a blood clot in the umbilical cord. I found her blog, Dear Stevie, after I lost Mabel in June. Although this sort of misery does not love company, I did find comfort in knowing that I was not alone in my sorrow, confusion, anger, and emptiness. Kristin started Faces of Loss, Faces of Hope with several other mothers who have experienced the loss of a child. The site, and all of the beautiful faces that are featured, are a testament to a woman’s ability to endure unthinkable heartbreak. These women are survivors and I am one, too. Luckily, being a survivor doesn’t mean that we don’t get to have days where the tears flow easily and the emptiness in our arms seems too much to bear. But tomorrow is a new day. If that one sucks too, there will be another day after that. And another and another.
Many women suffer the loss of a child. Too many. But not every woman is able to create something so positive out of the pain. Thank you for doing what you do, Kristin. You are true inspiration.
Kristin’s carving of Mabel’s name, from her Forest project
{Thank you to SITS and to the sponsors of the Back to Blogging event, Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen & Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.}
This Human's Condition 