It came from Casey and Richard and the kids, and before I could look at it, I was told to read the note first, and here is what it said:
Grammie, this is an angel baby for you to wear for Taylor. It is handmade with wings that glow on your chest when the sun is on them.
When I read that, my eyes welled up, and when Casey saw my reaction, hers did too. Then Lindsay came over and we made her read the note, with the same reaction.
Now to explain, for those who don't know the history. Taylor was my first-born and he died from meningitis 28 years ago at ten and a half weeks of age.
Always a baby in my memory, I look at my 'children' all grown up, and wonder at the man Taylor would have been now.
Lindsay, Casey and Micah all loved the brother they never met, even crying themselves to sleep on occasion when they missed him. And I know exactly how they felt / feel, because my brother Royce died at birth, before I was born. Lindsay has used Taylor's name for her oldest son's middle name, and Casey's oldest son has Taylor's middle name as his first, Evan.
Though Taylor lived only a very short while, at what is becoming a time so long ago, his love still lives in this family, and can still stir us to smile through tears.
Thank you again, Casey, for this very special gift, and thank you again, God, for all four of my very special children.
Sis, Thank God for angels that watch over us from heaven. One of my earliest memories is of my stepping up on a little stepping stool to peer into the child's casket at my little brother whom I never got to play with. I wondered my times throughout my life how things might have been different. It was a painful deja vu' to sit at Taylor's funeral and again wish that things could be different. I am glad that your family continues to remember and honor Taylor. Peace be with you Sis. Love you, Gary
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