Stories Archives - Page 30 of 38 - Forever In Mom Genes

Mother of the Year

May 13 2012

When Heather lost her three year old son Zack, she didn’t stop being a mom. Though her heart was broken, Zack’s brothers needed her more than ever. So she embraced them and loved them as mothers do while she made a plan to keep a promise; the one she made to Zack and to herself as they said goodbye. She vowed to keep his memory alive and to have Elmo, Zack’s comfort and joy, speak his name. And that’s just what she did. Heather tirelessly raised money to create a room (two rooms in fact!) in Zack’s name at York Central Hospital. She also persevered until Kevin Clash (the puppeteer who IS Elmo) knew how much Zackie loved him. Kevin knows and he was touched. And Elmo did speak Zack’s name. Heather is healing with her family and she continues to tell Zack’s story, not only to keep his memory alive, but to help other families deal with the pain of losing a child.” Heather and I became friends online. We bonded over our special needs kids and soon discovered we had many other things in common. When my daughter was in hospital shortly after Zack died, Heather kept tabs on[…]

Apr 14 2012

We all want our daughters to have a voice. I need my daughter to have one. I won’t always be around to speak for her – to explain to others why she may not understand, or to make her understood. Before my daughter was born, deep down I worried there was something wrong. All the prenatal testing indicated she was fine, but sometimes a mother just knows. When she was born, and I held her in my arms, I saw only perfection. I still do. We soon discovered our girl was special. In fact, she’s so unique there isn’t a name for her particular syndrome. She has come miles further than we were told she could. Her future is bright, yet shadowed by developmental and medical challenges. Our daughter doesn’t understand the rude looks or ignorant questions. A stranger’s comment about her “walking funny” results in a carefree smile. Teasing, from a neighbourhood kid earns him a giggle. One day, she will understand and feel the sting of hurtful words and actions. The most important thing I can do to prepare her is to help her to find her voice. My girl is a mess of blonde curls, big brown eyes and pouty pink lips. She’s beautiful. People want[…]

Apr 09 2012

When my friend Heather‘s son Zack passed away, every parent’s worst nightmare became a reality. But what Heather she chose to do with such insurmountable pain, is beautifully inspiring. Through her grief, Heather works to keep her boy’s spirit alive by celebrating him every day. So many of us have never met Zack, but we know him because his mama is always finding ways to share him with us. Heather has spoken at conferences and on television, sharing stories about Zack and her quest to raise money to build Zack’s Dream Room at York Central Hospital. Heather not only raised enough money to build this special room, but there are now two playful cosy rooms dedicated to making any child’s hospital stay more comfortable. Heather also shared Zack with his hero—Elmo. Kevin Clash reached out and made this message not only for Zack, but also to comfort those children who will be staying in one of Zack’s Dream Rooms. Heather wrote: My dream was for Elmo to know now much Zack loved him, and that one day he would say Zack’s name….this is the video that made my dreams come true. I only wish were here to see it all and celebrate with[…]

Feb 08 2012

Shiver me timbers, nothing beats a good back ticklin’. My love of ‘the shivers’ has been transferred to my children. Every night as we assume the cuddle position, one of the kids whispers, “Dot-Dot-Line-Line Mummy.” Anyone remember this childhood rhyme or did my somewhat twisted family make it up? The {non-twisted} version goes: Dot, dot, line, line {draw on their back} Let a {insert name of random animal} crawl/hop/slither/whatever…up your spine {squiggle your finger up their back} Crack an egg, on your head, let it dribble into your bed {do the action}. Tight squeeze {give their tummy a little squeeze} Cool breeze {blow on the back of their neck} Shiverrrrrrrr {lightly run your fingers up and down their back}. Good shivery fun right? What’s NOT good is absentmindedly reverting back to the version you learned as a child, which is nearly the same with the exception of the egg part. Which goes… Crack an egg, on your head, let it dribble ’til you’re dead. “WHAT did you say??” my son asked. Whoops. But he’s eight and old enough to handle the truth so I admitted to switching “dead to bed.” He suggested I avoid using the “scary” version with[…]

Jan 20 2012

Winter birthdays stink; my husband and I can both attest to that. His birthday, a few days before Christmas, is consistently lost in the storm of holiday preparations. On his last birthday, my aging husband worked all day, came home to a house in chaos, a stressed out wife and absolutely no birthday regalia. None. Granted I had bought him a birthday present weeks before — a sweater {which he loved}, a shirt {which he returned} and jeans {which he claimed were too small because of the style, not the size}. He ended up making his own dinner and dishing out his birthday cake. Not even a real b-day cake, but a Lemon Too Tall cake, my favourite, served still in the box. What? I opened one side. “Lovely presentation.” he said. I went upstairs to work and he put the kids to bed. Poor guy didn’t even get any birthday bumps. “It’s the thoughtlessness that counts!” he joked. His only consolation was that at least HIS birthday didn’t fall on the most depressing day of the year. That would be MY birthday. Having a birthday mid January is kind of a joke. It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s depressing.[…]

Category - Stories

Mother of the Year

Her Voice

Elmo For Zack

Goosebumps and Shivers

It’s The Thoughtlessness That Counts