March 2015. My daughter Florence Marigold, is three years old. We were told she wouldn’t make it past her early childhood years. Although we are thrilled she is with us, we also know there is a ticking clock. Our hearts break every time we see the progression of the disease
Nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of your spirit as you came in flesh and blood and water. Nothing. The love I have for you is vast. It is overwhelming. On the day I finally met you, I felt my heart break. The love was so heavy, it
As the one year anniversary approaches, I am starting to see that I have laid expectations on myself. I also feel that others may expect me to act differently. Somehow a year feels like a great marker in the grief journey, because it is a whole 12 months, but the truth is, I feel
This post was originally published on the Canuck Place blog. This wonderful place has made such a difference in our lives. They recently sent out a letter and packets of Marigold seeds in honour of #FlorenceMarigoldinBloom Click here to donate to Florence’s Canuck Place page in honour of Mother’s Day and our beautiful
It’s that time of year. Marigold season. This time last year we had no idea that Florence would be gone from us in a month. I heard marigolds were finally in bloom, and everything inside of me wanted to hop in the car and find them. I felt drawn to
By Sheree Plett Eisenhauer. My name is Sheree and I am a mother. I have three beautiful children that call me by that name (or mama, mommy, mom). The definition of a mother is simply put- “a woman in relation to a child to whom she has given birth.” I
On Saturday we celebrated you, Florence Marigold. It was supposed to rain all day, but guess what? The sun came out! It always has on your birthday party. We wrote in the book that was at your celebration of life and also on banners that we have hung on our wall. We
Dear Village, I don’t know how to ask this, without sounding quite desperate. But, the truth is, I am feeling desperate. Desperate to celebrate my daughter and have you alongside me. Her birthday is on March 7th. She would have been 4 years old. Every fibre of my being is
This post is part of the #onComingAlive project at Scribbles and Crumbs. To read the full post, head here. Once upon a time, I had a little girl. Her smile and curls and doe-brown eyes were a sight to behold. She was mine. My dream. And then, one summer day,
By Allison Gauvin We are a family of six: my husband Ben, myself, Julia (6 years), Beckett (would be 4 years), Clementine (would be 3 years), and Wilbur (18 months). My husband and I carry the same mutated gene giving our children a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting metabolic
Two days before Florence’s diagnosis. This photo still shakes me. I look at it and feel the earth roll under my feet. This was innocence. Bliss. Normality. Complacency. I look at this and reel. I acknowledge this moment. When I felt free of pain. When I sat on the edge of the
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is: what do
The doctor hands you a stack of papers. She’s circled and highlighted the
When we look for apps for Florence, we look for simple, clean
This post has been inspired by the countless people who brought us
baby steps: on the road to ripeness at 37 weeks pregnant 
how to build a hospital care package for caregivers. 
mama grief: when you miss mothering a medically fragile child 
the water birth of Florence 
in honour of Florence Marigold: project #FlorenceMarigoldinBloom 
this is motherhood {too}: a *very* special needs adoption journey 
