Welcome back I know I missed last weeks blog post but I took a small (not complete) hiatus from most social media and didn’t post much about anything
You guys know how much I love celebrating Scarlett’s milestones, both BIG and small. I sometimes get a little carried away, and who could blame me?
Well…last week I celebrated a milestone of my own. On Saturday, as I was enjoying my day out with my mother in law, and I received a notification from WordPress, congratulating me on my 2 year anniversary of starting this blog.
Two years, and it feels like just yesterday.
That I was sitting in our one bedroom duplex, on our big green couch, Scarlett snuggled safely next to me as I sat down and began writing her story. Our story. So many things have changed in two years and it makes me so emotional just thinking back on it all. I feel so blessed to be where I am. I am proud of how far my little family has come.
When I started my blog, I was dealing with a lot of emotions left over from all that we had endured throughout Scarlett’s NICU journey. I was full of all these emotions fighting with each other and trying to be at peace with one another. Writing has always been the best way for me to process my emotions and work through them. So I sat down and I wrote. I wrote and published post after post and slowly, I started healing. I worked through all of my trauma, all of the pent up feelings I had and it has been such a blessing. I’ve since made it a mission to share Scarlett’s story and my knowledge of NICU life and advice through pictures on Instagram and videos on YouTube and slowly, my community has grown.
What I’m trying to say is that, because of you all, my dear readers , my family, my friends, complete strangers… because of your constant support, your constant love – Scarlett’s story has reached families who needed hope.
And that is something I am forever grateful for. I am so humbled by the fact that families have reached out to me over the past couple of years and have shared their tiny warrior’s stories with me. I’ve connected with so many people who have walked/or are walking a similar path and I am thankful for their support. Preemie-hood is not for the faint of heart. It can be lonely and isolating, but I have been comforted by the fact that other’s have felt the emotions I felt and we have been able to lift each other up and just be there for one another along the way.
I’ve not ever properly sat down and wrote a thank you letter to every beautiful soul who has been with us from the beginning. My tribe. Scarlett Tribe. But I hope you know how loved and appreciated you are.
With God all things are possible. There is no doubt about it. We all have our own trials and journeys to walk through. But when he gives you AMAZING people to join you along the way, and help you – life is that much sweeter.
So here is to us! Here is to two years (or more) of this crazy journey #RaisingScarlettRain and here is to many more years to come!
I wrote this poem about a year ago. My fellow preemie mom, Melissa, tasked me with the impossible task of coming up with a way to say thank you to her tribe for all they have done for her and her family. I of course, would not have been able to write it, had I not had an equally incredible tribe myself.
So this is for you, (you know who you are). I love you, I thank you and I appreciate you more than you will ever possibly know.
I know, I know. It’s cheesy. But it’s the honest to God truth. So hush! ❤
Love, Riaa
Treasures of Motherhood 