My tongue grazed the last invitation envelope closed and I took the whole stack to my mailbox to be shipped out. I’m on my way to the grocery store to pick up a birthday cake for my daughter because my husband had to stay late at work for some big upgrade his company is doing, again. Fighting back tears, I drove to the mall because I need a nice dress for tomorrow. My world has felt like it is crumbling apart but I hope things will get easier after tomorrow. When I got home from my errands, my husband was still at work. I appreciate how he provides for our family, but I wish he would get back before I go to bed. I knew tomorrow would be a long and rough day, so I went to bed early.

The next day:

I finished decorating the house with roses, candles and pictures of my daughter for when everyone is coming over after the funeral. It took some convincing, but my husband got off work for this and I am very grateful as this is something I couldn’t do all alone. I plucked a tissue out of the box and used it like a dam, blocking the tears from rushing out of my eyes. Everybody sang Happy Birthday for our daughter who died 1 week before her 5th birthday. Through our cries, my husband and I blew out the candles together. 

“Happy Birthday in Heaven, we love you.”