The past few days I have taken an unwanted, unexpected, respite from writing. I haven't been on vacation, I haven't been too busy with work, I haven't been apathetic or lazy. Rather, I've been too angry to write, I've been asking to many answerless questions to write, I've been far too sad to write.
On Tuesday, my cousin's three month old baby died. I was in NJ when I found out and immediately booked a flight home. I arrived in Minneapolis Wednesday night and was home by Thursday at lunchtime. My sister and I went to my aunt and uncle's house as soon as we pulled into town and the hugs that umbrellaed us then induced this awful stage of limbo between nightmare and reality. It was in the presence of my family that reality's tragedy surfaced. It was through the tears of my dear cousins, under the arms of my aunts and uncles, in the sounds of sobs, and in my grandparents' extraordinary attempt to remain strong that I realized our family, our entire family, was stripped of the most precious gift and would, in turn, be forced to embark on a journey laden with sadness and anger and absolute confusion.
In this horror, though, I learned a great truth about my family. We are connected by a love far greater than anything I've ever experienced, anything I ever thought possible. On Friday, when we said our farewells to sweet baby Brooklyn, hugs were offered liberally leaving no space between bodies for previous held petty divisions. On Saturday morning, when we offered baby Brooklyn to the Heavens, we found comfort in each other's arms as Brooklyn flew through the wind, blowing our hair and drying our tears.
The past few days should have never happened, such days should be withheld from humanity. The greatest wordsmith couldn't offer appropriate condolences, solace isn't afforded through cards or flowers, but in the arms of our family, under the watchful eyes of our grandparents, in the voices of our aunts and uncles and cousins, there is a great love. In this love lies the sweetest bonding force, sweet baby Brooklyn, and in this love lies our
hope.
Baby Brooklyn, we will forever be indebted to you, for it is you that unveiled a love unseen previously.
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