Charlotte trying on Julie's glasses.

Grief is unpredictable. This was one of the hardest days yet. Now that school has started and our summer events are behind us, reality came knocking. I woke up with no energy to start the day. Looking around at the dishes in the sink, the clothes from the trip that need to be put away, the train tracks on the floor... it all seemed magnified. I stayed in my PJs until 5 pm. The only reason I got dressed then was because I had to attend the burial of a chipmunk. Our neighbor found Chippy floating in her watering can. She helped the kids dig a hole and cover Chippy with dirt. Both kids said prayers.


Charlotte wasn't feeling well this morning. I told her the only way she could stay home from school was to be sick enough to need a nap. We all went to sleep and napped the entire afternoon.


When we got up from our naps there was a FedEx box on the porch. I called my friend Julie who had sent the box. She said, "Do you want to open it while we talk on the phone?" I opened the package and found a box of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I could not hold back the sobs. I love homemade chocolate chip cookies, but that isn't why I was crying. It was a moment of grace. I was hurting and lonely and a friend sent me a box of love.