Thinking of my friend’s little girl and praying for her.

I’m not usually at a loss for words when it comes to writing. But since Monday, I have been. I wanted to write this post then. Instead, I went downstairs and painted a lot of blue hearts for an awesome little girl who just lost her mommy. My friend Carrie passed away on Monday after a long illness that none of her doctors could figure out. It was not related to Covid-19, it had something to do with her heart and low blood pressure. Carrie is the pretty blonde with glasses on the right in the photo above. We were friends in high school and reconnected on Facebook. We shared a deeper connection after her and her husband adopted a baby girl from Russia and we chatted a lot more after that. When the girl they named Tayla, was around 5 years old, I provided childcare when her parents had to go a funeral. I fell in love with Tayla that day. She is a beautiful girl with dark hair, rosy cheeks, a twinkle in her eye, and an adorable chubby, round face. We spent the day making princess crowns and watching Power Puff Girls.

The past few years had been really rough on Carrie due to her illnesses and a lot of personal issues. When I posted anything about going out for a Girls Night Out on Facebook, Carrie was always the first one to reply. We went to the Cleveland Art Museum together for a Halloween Themed Mixer event on November 1st. She dressed up in cute poodle skirt that her mom had made for her because it was easy to hide the cast she was wearing after a recent fall. I dressed up as Mary Poppins. Although Carrie couldn’t dance, we had fun just exploring and walking around the museum, soaking in the atmosphere. Carrie had this infectious laugh that everyone loved and a brilliant smile. When she drove me back to my house, she told me that little Tayla told her to have a fun night out and she smiled as thanked me for giving to that to her.

The picture above was taken in January. I always wanted to go one of those wine and paint nights but didn’t want to go by myself. So Carrie and our friend Karen said they would meet me there. We had so much fun on that night and I found out just recently from Carrie’s family members and mutual friends that paint night meant the world to Carrie. I am happy I could provide a little reprieve and some happiness for her.

I know my friend is no longer in pain. I like to think that she will live on in her daughter’s memories and heart. Tayla, if there is one thing I can tell you about your mommy is that she loved you since first saw photos of you. You were her world, sweet little girl. I wish I could hug little Tayla right now and I am hoping that if she ever has any future questions about tracking her Russian roots, she will come to me. I hope that she will always remember though that Carrie was her loving mother, not her adoptive mother, just simply her mommy and she will always be watching over her.