#ariachallenge

Lemme tell you a story. I know it's long (I don't know any other way) but bear with me. There's a challenge at the end of it for you.

Back in March, I was sitting in church one week. At the end of the lesson, one of the leaders took a minute to tell us about a situation with another family and asked us all to pray for them. She said that their newborn baby girl was sick and had been at Primary Children's for a few weeks and was not doing well. Tears instantly filled my eyes. I definitely have an extra soft heart for anyone else sent to that particular hospital since that's where Aria was, but then to hear that it was another newborn baby girl just like ours. My heart just broke for that mama knowing what she was going through, the emotions she must be feeling as she faced the possibility of losing her baby. I had never met these people before and I thought to myself, "Oh that poor mama. I hope someone does something to help her." Instantly, this thought popped into my mind: "YOU'RE someone, you idiot." Now, perhaps God didn't mean to be that harsh, but it sure felt like it :) I sure bet he was exasperated with how closed off and self-centered my mind had been since losing Aria and decided to just skip the gentle quiet promptings and give me a good kick in the pants instead.

With that startling realization, I started remembering about who truly made the difference for us during our time of trial. I distinctly remember being in the hospital those first couple days thinking how unfair it was that God couldn't have had this happen to me a couple months earlier when my friends would have been more available to support me. Three of my closest friends at the time had coincidentally also had baby girls just a couple weeks before me so while I completely understood that they were already tapped out from that life change, I felt like for the most part God was leaving me to handle this without much of a support system. How very wrong I was! Now of course our families and close friends did as much as they could and were absolutely amazing, but they also were emotionally distraught by the situation on their own behalf. Plus, a trial that big requires more. What we never expected to have happen was that over the next couple months, most of the kindness and support we received came from near strangers at the time. We had just moved a couple months prior so we hardly knew anyone in the neighborhood, but our neighbors flooded in with meals, kind texts and messages, babysitting offers, mowing our lawn, etc etc. Old friends we hadn't talked to much in years suddenly reached out and stayed with us through it all. As Aria's story became more public complete strangers would contact me by email to tell me that they had been affected by her story and wanted us to know that she mattered. Over and over again, the small and simple acts of caring from these strangers made up the bulk of our support each day. It always seemed like just when I felt like I couldn't survive another moment, someone would innocently send a text just letting me know they were thinking about us. So simple. Yet so life-changing.

Point #1: You don't have to know them. You don't have to do something big. Just do something!

So, remembering this, I resolved to do something to show this neighbor that I was aware of their situation and cared about them. . .at least for that day. However, it just happened to be an insanely busy week for me, plus I was very pregnant and exhausted all the time. All of a sudden a few days had passed by without me doing anything and I started to lose my nerve. I thought, "well, it's been several days, surely the time to do something has passed. . .I've missed my chance. . ." which is when God bellowed back, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???" and I remembered how pretty much the day after Aria's funeral, the bulk of the support of others faded away. I know that it wasn't for lack of caring, but it's so easy to think that because an EVENT has passed, so has the bulk of the EMOTION. In reality my daughter's death was all that mattered to me for the next several months and I would get annoyed when people would try to talk to me about more trivial things as if they mattered. I would have accepted an offer of condolence or act of kindness 3 months later just as greedily as I would have while she was alive.

Point #2: There is no expiration date on when your kindness will no longer be welcome!

So to finish my story. . .I got my nerve up and assembled a mini care package for their family with the help of another neighbor (whose own newborn baby, ironically, would be sent to Primary's 2 months later requiring her own community of support, which she received in spades. . .I'm telling you, karma is real). Because I'm a total dweeb who is super shy and self conscious I just stuck it in her mailbox along with a short letter telling her briefly about my experience and inviting her to contact me if she ever wanted to talk.

She contacted me later that same night.

Long story short (hahaha, way too late for that), over the next several months we have gotten to know each other better. I call her my friend now. Her baby, blessedly, still fights a long hard road but is home now. And we even share a nanny :)

This experience changed me. It was the starting point to help bring me out of the darkness I had let myself go to during this last pregnancy where I gave in to all my fears and bitterness. I was so focused on my own trials I was ignoring the needs of others. While of course I was always happy to do any service for others when asked, I realized I was missing out on so many opportunities for service simply because I was busy or self-absorbed or it just didn't cross my mind to do anything personally more than sympathize. So many simple, small acts made a difference in my life. I want to be able to do that for others! So, starting that week in March, I made a goal and dedicated it to Aria's upcoming birthday that was a few months away. My goal was to actively LOOK for opportunities to reach out. When I heard of things others were going through, instead of just feeling bad for them I wanted to DO something.

Right off the bat, there were a couple big trials of others that were presented. A friend's daughter that was diagnosed with cancer. Another friend's baby sent to the hospital. I was able to offer meals, texts, play dates, etc and felt like I made a difference.

But there were many less significant events too that I started noticing. . .things I wouldn't normally do much about. Someone whose husband was on a business trip leaving her alone with their little kids for the first time. A new mom who was having a hard time adjusting. House projects for someone that had become way too stressful. A family worried over an upcoming move. Etc etc. I started keeping a journal of my efforts and feel like it has helped increase my awareness of others. I have been amazed by how many "small trials" I have been able to be more aware of simply by trying!

This is how you start: If you hear about something going on that moves you, do something about it. Simply put, If you FEEL it, ACT on it!

Most of the time I don't do anything huge - just texts to check in with them and see how things are going and asking what I can do to help make things a little easier for them. Or treats. It's always a good excuse to make a big batch of treats and drop off plates for anyone who might need an extra smile that day (because leftovers!) I hope I make a difference here and there in someone's day. It sure makes a difference in mine.

So. This is my CHALLENGE. The #ariachallenge. Aria's "angel day" is coming up this Thursday the 18th. And I find myself more and more of an emotional wreck the closer it gets. I could sure use the knowledge that her short life has affected others to be more aware of those around them, no matter how big or small the trial. Look for an opportunity to serve someone this week. It doesn't have to be big. Just a text to someone who might be in need of a boost. Or maybe even a thank you note to someone whose made a difference during a hard time for you. I'd love if you go to Aria's FB page (https://www.facebook.com/babyarialynn) or back here to the blog and share your #ariachallenge with me. But it's okay too if you want to keep it private.

Let's put some extra good into the world this week.

How to help someone who is grieving/living the hospital life

Creative title, huh?  But since I intended to have this blog up long, long ago and have been sidetracked, it will have to do.

There have been a few instances since Aria died where I have been approached by someone looking for advice on how to help someone else going through similar things.  I thought it would be helpful if I wrote about what we most appreciated from others, in order to spark some ideas.  I know that my ideas NOW as far as what is helpful, compared to my ideas BEFORE, definitely do not line up!  It definitely takes living through something like this to understand the specific difficulties that are associated with it.

Although everyone is going to be a little different on what specific show of support they need, I've broken the situation into 2 large chunks:  Hospital Life, and Grieving Life.  For us, we had 2 months of basically living at the hospital before Aria passed away.  Our needs during that time were very different than our needs after.  So I have tried to specify if there are ways to help that are better suited to one situation than the other.

Don't just say something like, "what can we do to help you?"  Even though it is very well-meaning.  Whenever I was asked that I would usually answer with a blank stare.  Guys, I know the offer was genuine, it's just that you have to understand that when you're going through something like this, your brain is FRIED all the time.  Especially when we were living the Hospital Life. . .I literally couldn't plan more than 24 hours in advance, because our schedule at the NICU changed every day based on what new tests they were running or what doctors wanted to talk to us or what visitors we had coming.  It made it SO HARD to plan anything.  Child care for my older son, meals, even being able to tell people for sure times that we would be at home.

Gifts:  I loved and kept every single thing people gave us for Aria, both while she was alive and after she died.  I keep them all in a dresser full of her momentos.  We have lots of headbands, a couple bracelets, a few personalized blankets, small stuffed toys, a dress, drawings from several different children, even a little crocheted ladybug costume, and some other things.  I just love that I have tangible items that I can say are hers, even if she never saw or touched them.

Equally important - the gifts that came for my son, both before and after Aria died.  I think in these kinds of circumstances it is really easy to forget about any siblings and to focus only on the parents and child involved.  But this was as difficult a time for our son as it was for the rest of us, and I just really appreciated whenever anyone thought to send him a little trinket.  Especially during Hospital Life when I was away from him so much.

Throughout the whole process, both Hospital and Grieving Life, THE MOST IMPORTANT thing anyone could do was just to let me know they cared.  This could be as simple as a text every couple days letting me know they were thinking about us or asking about the baby or sharing a way that our baby was inspiring them to be better.  In our everyday busy life, I was just appreciative to have been a thought in someone's mind.  It helped me feel like our baby mattered to more people than just us, which is HUGE as a parent!  We spend their whole lives proudly showing them off, I wanted people to still care about my baby even if I couldn't physically show her off.  This is still true even though she's in heaven now.

Related to that - make sure to mention the baby.  No matter the diagnosis.  It was always super awkward when people would ask repeatedly how I was doing, or my husband, or son. . .but they seemed terrified to mention the baby.  This is more true after she died.  I know it's really awkward for most people to mention the deceased, but it did hurt my feelings because I felt like they would rather she just be forgotten.  Or maybe they didn't want to bring up painful memories.  But what those people don't understand is that I already was thinking about her 24/7.  Still do!  You're not "reminding" me of anything, so when you mention my baby that just helps me know that you remember her too which is all I want.

As far as tangible gifts for parents goes - anything of course was truly welcomed and appreciated.  There are two types of gifts that we received that were particularly helpful though: gift cards for cash or gas.  I hesitate to even mention it because it sounds so blunt, but my feeling is that if you are going to spend money on someone, I might as well tell you what will absolutely get used.  Restaurant gift cards are nice but we didn't get a chance to use them until months later when we had the luxury of flexible time again.  But we did spend a LOT of money on food at the hospital cafeteria, so it was super nice to just swipe a VISA gift card.  We also spent hundreds of dollars each month on gas so the couple of gas cards we got were used quickly (and thankfully they were for stations that were near us).  That one I'm sure is not as important in some cases where the baby is very close, but where Aria's NICU was an hour away, we spent a. lot. of. time. driving. back and forth, sometimes several times each day depending on what was going on.

Play dates:  I got so many offers of baby-sitting, and truly appreciated them.  However, most of those offers stopped after Aria died.  It makes sense - people knew how busy we were with Hospital Life, so they offered childcare, and then figured we didn't need it once we were no longer schedule-crazy after she died.  However.  This is actually backwards of what would have been helpful.  Let me 'splain: During Hospital Life, if I was leaving Bennett with someone in the neighborhood it really needed to be for several hours to make it worth it since the NICU was so far.  Drop him off, drive an hour, be in the NICU for 2 hours, drive an hour home to pick him up.  And 2 hours in the NICU is practically nothing, although of course better than nothing.  At any rate, asking a neighbor for a minimum of 4 hours is kind of a HUGE favor, and kind of risky because I never knew if I'd run into traffic on the way up or back, or if a doctor would drop by right as I was getting ready to head home, etc.  I just always felt so bad if I ended up being late coming back.  And not just for the neighbor, but for my Bennett boy.  He turned 3 during Hospital Life and leaving him with a neighbor for 4 hours was just really long for him at that time, mostly because he had severe abandonment issues that took months to work through.  At today's age where he could understand what was going on better it would be fine, but he was just too little back then and was happiest when I was at least in sight somewhere.  He did much better when he was with family members who he knew well, but that was hard on me because they lived in the opposite direction so that meant my commuting time was doubled.  The best child care during that time came from two angels who were able to offer regular child care for free.  One was some old friends who we hadn't kept in touch with, but who reached out because they lived near my husband's work.  We were able to come up with an arrangement where once a week I would drop Bennett off in the late afternoon and go to the NICU, and then my husband would pick him up a couple hours later on his way home.  It was AWESOME.  I got to spent the whole evening at the hospital totally stress-free knowing that Bennett was only away from his parents for a couple hours that day (on those days my husband would usually go up to the NICU in the early morning, just in case you were wondering).  The other was my aunt who lived only about 20 minutes from the hospital!  On the days where I didn't have any other help I could drop Bennett off there on my way up, spend 2-3 hours at the NICU, then go pick him up.  He loved playing there with my little cousins and knew I wasn't far away so he was content to last a little longer without me.  In Grieving Life, I was at home physically with my son all the time, but I was mentally/emotionally spent.  This is where the playdate offers would have been most helpful, because I could have easily taken him somewhere in the neighborhood for a couple hours just to be able to have a little time to collect myself and recharge for the rest of the day taking care of him and all the household needs.

Meals:  This one gets tricky.  I don't believe I cooked at all while Aria was in the hospital.  I just didn't have the time.  I was sure sick of fast food and take-out by the end of those 2 months of Hospital Life.  I knew I'd survive, but it really added to my stress to feel like my son was not getting the nutrition he needed as a toddler.  As far as grocery shopping went, we only ever bought staples - milk, eggs, bread.  You know what would have been great?  If we had been stocked on easy-grab healthy foods.  Both for parents and kids.  Things like yummy granola bars, yogurts, fruit cups, Lunchables, non-messy fresh fruits and veggies, applesauce pouches, cup-o-noodles, microwave dinners. . .you get the idea.  Anything that is easy to eat while in the car is a bonus since over half the time I only had time to eat while driving.  Fresh meals or freezer meals that people brought over were great of course, but way more helpful during Grieving Life when our schedule was no longer as crazy.  While Aria was in the hospital I didn't dare even start a crockpot, lest I burn the house down by staying at the hospital too long.  And fresh meals were hard because as I've mentioned, I was never able to give people concrete times of when we would be home.  But during the immediate grieving period those meals were so helpful and amazing, because we obviously were not in the mood for cooking for a long time afterward.

Flowers:  Another kind of tricky one.  LOVED having fresh flowers in the house to come home to at the end of long hospital days.  HATED having fresh flowers in the house after Aria died because it was just so damn depressing watching more beautiful things slowly dying.

Biggest tip of all: Do something! Anything!  Even if you don't know them!  Even if it's just a quick text, FB message, note in their mailbox, etc.  While I can't tell you specific names of people who just sent quick little notes of sympathy/support, I CAN tell you that it was little messages like those that helped me get through the day.  Just to know that someone was thinking of us was huge, even if they weren't actually doing anything.  The big shows of support, of course, were life-changing and amazing.  But just having these tiny random messages from people throughout the day was equally amazing.  They always seemed to come right when I was at a breaking point, and would help give me the energy to last a couple more hours.  And they were often from people who I didn't usually talk to, or barely knew.  It ALL makes a difference.