Happy Birthday, Morgan

Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays of any kind are all very difficult.  I can't really say that Morgan's birthday is the hardest of them all, but it is very hard to recognize that another is coming and going and she is not here to celebrate growing old with us.  She is celebrating life.  She just isn't celebrating it with us right now.  We spent Morgan's 17th birthday at Arkansas Children's Hospital.  I have no idea what her brain could conceive or understand.  I have no idea what she was thinking, or how she felt.  But I know that, as her parents, we were blessed.  We threw a party for her and so many people came to help us celebrate Morgan's birthday and her life.  Morgan could not talk, or smile.  She could not hug people, or laugh.  She couldn't eat cake or ice cream.  But she was loved by so many.  That was the last one we would spend with her.  March 9, 2015.  We didn't know it at the time, but I'm so glad we made it special.  Thank you, to everyone, who helped make it special.  This Saturday on March 9, 2019, it will be Morgan's 21st birthday.  Or, it would have been.  Had she stayed on course, she would be a Junior at UCA - wow!  I just can't imagine how grown-up I would think she was getting, and how I would tell her that she had become an amazing young woman.  I just can't imagine what her day-to-day life would look like.  Where would she be working?  Would she be dating a nice, Christian young man?  I mean, if she was dating, he would be a Christian, I do know that was very important to her.  Would she be coaching little girls and boys how to play soccer?  I know that she would be giving back to the community in some aspect of her life.  But those are things I will never know.  Morgan did what she did in the 17 years that she got here on earth.  I was reminded briefly the other day about how Morgan was so kind.  She was also funny, and she didn't want anyone around her having a bad day.  After her accident, I remember reading on her prayer page, what someone said about Morgan coming to school happy, every single day!  (Of course, I was thinking "MY Morgan")  As parents, we get to see our children when they are not happy, and when they are going through their own tough times.  I found out that Morgan was always an uplifting and encouraging friend to others.  If you were having a bad day, she wanted to lift you up.  If you were going through a rough patch, she wanted to be there for you, pray for you and tell you it was all going to be okay.  It is amazing to me how doctors and nurses, who only met and knew Morgan AFTER her accident, somehow still knew she had a special uplifting spirit about her.  They were drawn to her, even though she couldn't speak, or laugh, or share the love of God with them verbally.  Saturday - March 9, 2019 will be the 4th birthday we have not gotten to celebrate with Morgan.  As you all know, Kevin and I try to do something each year in remembrance of Morgan on her birthday.  We try to do something special- to reach out to others and just say that in honor of this day and beautiful person that was born on this day, we are doing this for you.  My goal is to give, be kind, be generous, and show the love of God.  No, Morgan was not perfect.  But she was quite a remarkable young lady, and I miss her terribly.  I missed her yesterday.  I miss her more today.  I will miss her more on her birthday, and the day after that.  Celebrate Morgan's birthday with us by showing a random act of kindness.  We will all get a blessing.  Love you all.

Birthday pictures from 2015