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Birthdays

I'm really good at stirring the pot. Really good. So... grab your coffee/beer/wine/water/apple juice... whatever the H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS you want to fill your cup with, buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

Last week we celebrated Christian's first birthday. Notice I said celebrated. I did not say mourned, forgot, overlooked, disregarded, or neglected. We did not ignore that we have a brother/son. We lite candles and hung the star lights from his nursery on the porch the night before his birthday and the day of we took him balloons and spent the day together. Had his physical presence been her with us we would have celebrated the exact same way. Celebrated. Together.

Being a newb (newbie) to this whole baby brother in heaven thing, I didn't know what to expect for his first birthday. Would people acknowledge that it was the day he was born? Or would they continue to overlook that I have a brother. Now, let me explain. The past year has been full of saying CJ's name. All the time. Daily. But only by us. Family and some friends have taken a back seat and don't acknowledge CJ. That hurts more than hearing his name. I HAVE A BROTHER. A year later and I want to scream it from the rooftops. I have a brother, you can't change that, you won't change that, so you might as well get used to me talking about him. So when his birthday rolled around I expected something. Some type of recognition. Want to know what I got? (I can't speak for any one else.. I do not know what conversations other people had.) ONE Facebook message acknowledging that it was my brothers birthday. From a family member on the other side of the country. Granted people may have celebrated on their own. You may have visited him, you may have prayed to him, who knows. If you did, thank you. But I guess what bothers me is this.... What makes August 13 different from August 23? One is Christian's birthday and one is Skye's. What difference is there? The phone has gone crazy today with calls/texts/facebook messages/facebook posts for Skye but a week ago... nothing. (On a total sidenote... standing ovation to people who contacted Skye today, she came downstairs surprised to tell us who she had just gotten off the phone with. Sad part... it was family that she was so surprised called her.) Besides their physical presence on earth... their is no difference in my brother and sister's birthdays.

Acknowledge him. Say his name. Celebrate his life with us. Don't do that for me.... #doitforJC. He deserves it. And while your at it.... tell Skye happy birthday today. You only have once chance to have a relationship with family... use it before it's too late.




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