Monday, August 04, 2008

Sad news, no time for blogging

I apologize for the lack of posts lately but it is not without good reason. I recently found out that our best friend's have lost their baby, due only in a few days. The mother noticed that the baby was not moving and went to the ER while on vacation in Nags Head. The doctors could not find a heartbeat and informed her that the baby would be stillborn.

I have spent the last few days making funeral arrangements and setting up the burial. They do not have money for a burial plot so I asked for a favor from a great guy, Woody Harper, at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. He is going to allow them to place the baby in my crypt until they can make other arrangements in the next year or two - no charge. I thought that was very generous of him and I wanted to pass on the good word about Hollywood and Mr. Harper.

I will probably get back in the posting mood within the next 48 hours or so. Tomorrow is the day that she will deliver and I know that will be extremely difficult for everyone involved. My wife and I suffered several miscarriages before our first child so I know their pain. We never lost one this far along but I can imagine what they are going through.

I hate to write such a depressing post, and I know this entire subject is a little morbid, but death is part of genealogy. We look at death records for young children all of the time and do not think much of them. I scan past them, maybe pausing for a moment of reflection, but keep on going. This experience demonstrates for me the value of those little lost babies and shows that they were loved and not just a name on an interment card.

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