An angel instead

We received several books in the mail yesterday, all from wonderful friends choosing titles that can help our family deal with grief.

I haven't had a chance to go through them all, but I immediately skimmed one of the kids' books and knew it was perfect for Jonah.

"We Were Gonna Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead"

The wording is simple and direct. It talks about the hopes and dreams of all the things they expected their baby to do, but could not.  Exactly the sort of stories we had built in Jonah and Rachel's minds to help them deal with the impending arrival of a sibling.

The images show a family crying, which was very important. Joe read it to the kids at bedtime, and Jonah needed to come show me and tell me about it as soon as they were done. 

I suspect its going to be in heavy rotation for a while at our house. Which I'm now coming to realize is a good thing.  We want the dialogue open. The kids need to know that its okay to think about Sarah and talk about her as a member of our family.  Because for many months, she played a significant part in our daily activities, reality and dreams.