Nine Months...

Nine long months....

Damon and I both woke up this morning, immediately recognizing it was yet another 25th of a month.  Damon commented that he couldn't believe it's already been nine months, feeling like everything happened much more recently.  I, on the other hand, can remember every moment very vividly, but I feel like it has been ages since Granty was with with us.

Last Sunday at the zoo profoundly affected me; it was gut-wrenching to watch Alexa experience the same emotions I have felt over the past year.  As a result, Granty was constantly on my mind this past week, and his absence was more noticeable than ever.  There were so many moments when Alexa did something silly, and I could just picture Granty hooting and hollering at his silly big sister.  We did our best to honor and remember him thought.  It wasn't a coincidence that Alexa sported giraffe-themed apparel several days this week.

Adding to the emotion of the week, Damon and I finally decided upon the headstone design for our little boy.  Talk about a gut-wrenching process! I had intentionally deferred this process as long as possible; it seems so backwards and misguided to select a headstone for your child.  However, I think we have created a design that captures the essence of our amazing little boy, as it includes a picture of his smiling face, and, of course, a giraffe.  It wouldn't have seemed 100-percent Granty without the giraffe that became his personal mascot.

I will never be able to understand nor explain the "why's" of what happened, but I can take solace in knowing I have a better life and am a better person because of the time I spent with Granty.

The picture that will adorn his headstone - a tough but smiley little boy.