Malena Rose

March 23, 1998 - September 4, 2000

Today it has been ten years since my daughter Malena died. This ten years has been an incredible journey that I wish I never had to take. At church the Sunday school class I am am part of has been having lessons on being "lonely in a crowd", as a bereaved mother there are times that I am lonely in a crowd more often than can be put into words. Unless you have had a child die you cannot understand what this means.  To sit with other moms and hear them talk about their children who are the age that your daughter would be today and wonder who she would be, would she like to sing or dance or read like her sisters or none of the above. It is very strange.

Then on the other hand I have gained so much since Malena died.  Scott and I made a decision when Malena died that our marriage would not suffer because of her death.  That we would not become a one of the many couples who break up when they lose a child; we did not want that to be her legacy.  My marriage is actually stronger as is my faith in God because I learned that I could not live daily without Him or my husband after her death.  I also learned very quickly what my priorities were after Malena's death.  My husband, my children, my faith all became the center of my life.  What was shocking was the world did not fall apart when my made these things priority; it got better.  Yes, I lost some friends and some family members who want me to move on and checked out but I found a peace that doesn't come from something I could have done on my own.  God has brought beauty from ashes today.

http://malena-rose.memory-of.com/Timeline.aspx