There are certain times in your life where you can feel the overwhelming power of people’s love for you. Usually big, happy things. Weddings, birth of a child, times like that. But there is also sad times where you feel
it, like moving away or the death of a loved one. And then there are times when it’s a mixture
of all of it. That’s what this weekend
brought us. Sean and I were absolutely
overwhelmed by the love and support we felt this weekend at the Inaugural
Jack’s Herd Cocktail Reception and Silent Auction. People came together from all different parts
of our life to get dressed up, have a little fun and helped us to raise and
incredible amount of money for a cause that we personally know can make a
tremendous difference. It was impossible
not to feel sad, knowing what, or more accurately who, it was that brought us
all out that night, but it was the feelings of love that won out when it was
all said and done.
Back when I first said I wanted to do this and Sean, my
sister Sara, and my friend Beth all said we may not have enough time to pull
it all together for when we wanted it to happen, I remember thinking ‘come on, how much could go into this?’ Well,
(just a minute while I finishing eating my words) it certainly was a lot. But, just as we knew from the moment we left
the hospital in Philly without Jack, we were not alone. People from all over lent a hand in the
process from acquiring donations, giving us resources and advice; it was
amazing the generosity we were already encountering. The craziest part was that it was also coming
from complete strangers, people we’d never met but that once they heard what we
were working towards were so willing to help.
Things anonymously showed up on doorsteps and monetary donations poured
in. Before we knew it we found ourselves
wrapping and numbering things and having to say ‘Thank you so much but we have enough for this year’. It was surreal.
I, of course-as with everything,
was like a manic ball of energy and so by the time Saturday rolled around I was
exhausted and ready for it all to be done.
Part of it was, this did not feel like a party for me. There was no denying that the only reason
Sean and I were going down this road at all was because we had lost a part of
us so great that we need something to pour the love and heartache into;
something to help us keep going on without Jack and yet still keep us tethered
to him. I knew I would feel better when
it was over and I was able to see that we’d done some good.
So we cleaned up, dressed up, and
walked into something we never could have imagined would turn out as
wonderfully as it did. The amount of
people that came, and the amount of money that was donated was incredible; but
the love and support for Jack’s Herd that was in that room was just
unfathomable. At one point in the
evening we, well I-because Sean can never get a word in and most times even
when he can lets me to the talking, spoke to welcome and thank everyone for
coming. As I looked up and saw everyone
out there looking up at us, my throat caught for a moment. I was legitimately overwhelmed to look up and
see the amount of people that have seen or heard about us going through hell
and are there for us as we are starting to come out the other side. Here’s most of what I said:
“Now I am going to be a total victim of my generation and use
television as an example to make a point.
There is a great new show on called ‘This is Us’. In the very first episode a young couple goes
in to the hospital to have triplets. One
of the babies doesn’t make it. And this
young dad is shown out in the waiting room, completely unravelling, which was
just such a real moment, and the doctor that did the delivery comes out to talk
to him. As the young, new dad is crying,
the doctor says to him, “I like to think that one day you'll be an old man like
me talkin' a young man's ear off explainin' to him how you took the sourest
lemon that life has to offer and turned it into something resembling lemonade.
If you can do that, then maybe you will still be taking three babies home from
this hospital, just maybe not the way you planned.”
That statement resonated so deeply within me. We did not take Jack home from the hospital
with us. But we did take his
legacy. And because of the support you
have all shown us in the creation of Jack’s Herd and the generosity you show
here tonight, we are still able to help Jack do something beautiful with his
life; to make a little lemonade. Your
generosity allows us to support other families as they navigate through the roughest
days of their life and hopefully find the strength to make lemonade of their
own one day. “
And the God’s honest truth is
that Saturday did taste a little of lemonade; still a little sour and maybe I
really would prefer something else to drink all together, but there was a sweetness that was undeniable.
And just to acknowledge the
“elephant” in the room, no I have not packed on the pounds. Yes, in the midst of all of the planning for
this big Jack’s Herd moment, we have also been processing some big news. We are expecting a baby. But I will save all of the feels that come
along with that until next time.
