People often say those words without realizing their weight.
“But you still have other children to live for.”
They spoke softly.
They meant well.
They said it with the belief that it was a source of comfort, motivation, and a path to move forward.
But for a mother who has lost a child, those words offer no comfort.
They are like a silent erasure.
As if the pain needed to be minimized so the world could feel more comfortable.
It was as if the mother’s heart had to quickly catch up with the pace of life of those who had never experienced loss like she had.
She knew they didn’t mean to.
She knew that love often lay behind those words.
But love doesn’t always know how to sit idly by amidst pain.
And pain doesn’t listen to reason, comparison, or words of encouragement.
Because when a mother loses a child, she loses not just a life.
She lost a future she had once envisioned.
She lost a version of herself that existed only for that child.
She lost thousands of ordinary moments that would never have happened otherwise.
Laughter should have echoed through the house.
Those steps should have grown bigger over the years.
A presence that should have been permanent.
She still wakes up every day as a mother.
She still prepares the meal.
She still braided her hair.
She still checks her child’s homework and kisses him on the forehead.
She still loves the children who are here with all her heart.
But loving the remaining children doesn’t erase the memory of the child who’s gone.
Being present for children who are alive cannot replace the child who should also be alive.
Her heart doesn’t function in the alternative way.
It expands.
And as it expands after loss, it expands with the pain.
She wasn’t grieving over forgetting her other children.
She was grieving because she was the mother of all the children.
Of the children she could hold in her arms.
And she had to carry the child in a different way.
She carried the child in silence.
She carries her child in her memories.
She carried her baby with increasingly labored breaths than before.
The fact that her children are still alive is no reason for her pain to lessen.
These are not reasons for the pain to go away faster.
They are not a consolation prize for an unimaginable loss.
They deserve to be loved completely for who they are.
And they are loved alongside the pain, not as a replacement for the pain.
Gratitude and heartbreak coexisted within her.
Joy and sorrow share the same space.
Love doesn’t disappear when tragedy strikes.
It’s deeper.
It’s wider.
And it hurts more.
And both of those things can exist at the same time.
They actually exist.
With unending grief and boundless love, the world knows that Brielle has been given angel wings.
Those words were simply unspeakable.
But they still need to be said.
Because Brielle’s life, however short, was real.
Your presence is meaningful.
Your impact extends far beyond the time you’ve been given.
You are light in its purest form.
It is gentleness wrapped in courage.
It’s a miracle that doesn’t need permission to exist.
Brielle didn’t need a long life to leave her mark.
I did that simply by being myself.
A beautiful soul has inspired not only those close to her, but also many who have never met her.
Through the screen.
Across the distance.
Through the hearts that learned your name, I felt changed.
Her smile carries something very rare.
Very genuine.
It serves as a reminder of what truly matters.
She reminded the world that happiness doesn’t require perfection.
That love doesn’t depend on the length of time.
That meaning still exists even in the most fragile moments.
Those who had the honor of bringing Brielle even a little joy understood the gift they had received.
They knew that even a single smile from her was not insignificant.
It is priceless.
It is sacred.
And it will be cherished forever.
Knowing that Brielle had smiled, even if only for a moment, became a memory cherished with reverence.
A moment frozen in time.
A reminder that connection always matters, even at the end.
Brielle reminded the world of what Happy Bundles really are.
Love is about meeting a person where they truly are.
It is hope that exists even when the outcome is uncertain.
It is joy that is independent of circumstances.
And it is a celebration of every beautiful heart, true to its person.
Her spirit became part of the mission.
My story became part of the job.
Your presence brings a meaning that nothing else can create.
Even in the face of loss, Brielle continued to give.
I’m giving you my perspective.
I give with a purpose.
I give you a reason to continue choosing compassion.
Your light will not be extinguished when your life comes to an end.
It spreads.
It disperses.
It found new places to survive.
In conversations about pain.
Among the acts of kindness inspired by your story.
In those quiet moments, people remember that love can still survive even after nameless losses.
Fly high, my dearest Brielle.
It’s not about leaving us, but about rising above the pain.
Overcoming illness.
Transcending the limitations of time.
Always be loved.
Always remembered.
Always a source of inspiration.
It’s not because of how you left, but because of how you lived.
And within each mother lies both grief and intense love.
Within each heart lies the understanding that suffering and gratitude can coexist.
Brielle’s legacy continues.
Lightly.
Forever.
Through love.
