I'll never take her for granted...

On Saturday I was "introduced" to a little girl named Allie Scott. I haven't met her but her website was sent to me and I read the story of this little baby girl, not yet 9 months old that was fighting Leukemia since she was 5 months old. On that night I read her story and I cried my heart out for her parents (Jenny and Andrew), and for her and all that she had to go through when her biggest struggle in life should've been teething.

And so several times a day I continued to check in with their site, waiting for Jenny to update on Allie's condition. Reading that they had stopped all medical treatment and were only taking "comfort measures" was the devastating news that Allie's time on earth was drawing to a close. And on September 13, while Jenny rocked Allie and sang to her, Allie left this world. She went from the arms of her Mommy to the arms of Jesus, from hearing the voice of her Mommy to God's chorus of angels. It was heart-wrenching just to read it....how can a mother endure the experience of it?

That's really all that is weighing on me the past few days. I just think about this little girl and how unfair and arbitrary death is when it comes to children. So many wonderful things are coming from Jenny and Andrew's loss. Thousands of dollars have been donated to the Light the Night Walk in Allie's name. Blood has been donated. And most importantly, people are loving their families better.

I certainly don't take for granted the gift that McKenna is to me. But I do take for granted the time that I have with her. I just don't know. I will never, ever know the number of days she will be in my life. How can I take those for granted? She is such a precious gift and so is every minute that I have her with me - smiling or crying, laughing or throwing a tantrum, giving kisses or throwing her food...every moment is to be cherished.

I was so touched that Jenny and Andrew did all they could to make each waking moment a moment of joy for Allie. That's what I want for McKenna. Her life should be joyful and precious and special and beautiful.

There is nothing fair about these young parents losing their daughter at 9 months old. There is nothing that will ever make it worth it to them. But it needs to be worth something. Their loss can't be for nothing. Love your families better. Value all of the moments that you have with them. If anything, let Allie teach us that lesson.