Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sydney & Lola

A friend emailed me last week telling me that she had a gift for us from some friends of hers (that we do not know personally). When she came by to bring the gift, I was taken back by what she had to say about why this gift was given to us from them. Two of her friends had lost their daughters, Sydney and Lola to SIDS. They have chosen to remember their "angels" with two foundations, the "Smiling Angel Foundation" and "Lola's IDEA Foundation". They hold annual golf tournaments and fundraisers to raise money to donate for SIDS research. The gift they gave to us was more than generous and will be put to good use in a similar way to honor Ryan someday. We are again, amazed by the generosity of those who do and do not know us personally. We were also reminded that we are not alone as parents and there are others out there that will help us through this difficult time in our lives.

We would like to personally thank Nadine and Dionne for reaching out to us. We are deeply humbled by your generosity and admire your strength to take your own tragic experience and find a way to honor your children.

The Hawns

1 comment:

Nadine Freedline said...

Thank you for the very kind words. I must also include our husbands Mike and Kevin who are equally responsible for the gift. I must have left them off the card. Not sure why.

We think of you and pray for you daily. Your blog is amazing. What a wonderful way to keep friends updated and to release your thoughts. I am sure you have been told before but I must tell you your are an unbeleievably talented writer. Sometimes I forget that I am reading a real story and not a novel. You have a talent.

It has been almost 5 years since the loss of Sydney and Mike and I are still healing. Somedays it hurts as much as the day she passed and other days come and go and I smile at the sound of her name and feel so blessed that I was her mom. I wouldn't trade the short time that I was given with her for anything. I know she is a special angel that has touched not just her parents hearts but many many others.

You have beautiful children! You are bleseed to be their parents. And more, they are blessed to have the two of you as their partents.