Lights

Once there was this Mom.  She was in a very dark place.  Her heart ached and she seemed to spend most of her waking hours weeping.  She couldn't remember ever feeling so alone in all her life.  All she had were her words, so she threw them out into the void hoping that somebody, anybody was listening.

Somebody was.  Lots of somebodies.  And little by little, the door to where she was hiding inched open and lights started to shine.

Lights like Penny.  And Jill. Meri.  Laura.  Jessica. Wendy. Tracey.  Misty.  Amy. Kristi.  Lora. Heidi. Kelly. Chasiti. 

And Shamae.

I count these ladies as people who helped save me, and Shamae was one of them.  She was so positive and encouraging; as well as a fierce D-advocate.

My favourite memory of her is when she blogged about a terrible Letter to the Editor someone had written to her local newspaper. The person took issue with a little boy injecting insulin at a table in a restaurant. Shamae was fired up and wrote this blog post, encouraging us all to write the paper.  My response was published and Shamae was so sweet, sending me a copy of the paper and proclaiming me a "published writer in Idaho!"

I was shocked to find out on Sunday that she had passed away in her sleep. I am still in shock, it just doesn't seem possible.

So once again, this Mom is weeping.  For the loss of a friend.  A fellow D-mom, and a sweet soul who was taken way too soon.  I cry for her husband and three little girls; who shouldn't be saying goodbye, but have to.  

How can you mourn so deeply for someone you've never met; never even talked to, except through the written word?  I think it speaks to the bond that we D-Moms all share.

Thank you Shamae, for being a light in my very dark world.