By Mami Daphne

Today it rained. The sky cried many tears…and so did I.

A 3-year-old little boy lost his battle with Cancer. I did not know this little boy personally but knew his mom through my consignment shop. I learned of his long battle with his illness through my neighbor and others in our community. Upon hearing of his passing my reactions were a mix of sadness and anger. Sadness for the family who suffered this great loss. Anger thinking about why such a young little boy had to die. My mind raced and at that moment I looked at my own children thinking how life could be so unpredictable.

My children are healthy and vivacious. They keep me on my toes and drive me crazy but they are the air that I breathe. As a mother I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose a child. My own daughter dealt with her own obstacles being born 10weeks prematurely. But we were lucky and she surpassed all the challenges that came her way.

As mothers we have this inner strength that keeps us going. Where does it come from? How do we cope? I thought about my sisters and what they’ve endured. My older sister lost 2 beautiful babies - they were stillborn. The loss of my nieces has stayed deep within my heart. I never imagined that I would have to lay to rest a baby, let alone one of my nieces. My sister is a brave and strong woman who has endured such heartbreak. She is a wonderful mom to beautiful twin boys and mother of two angel babies. My younger sister endured a devastating miscarriage and my heart cried out for her too. But with the grace of God she became the mom of a handsome little boy. I think of their inner strength and I think of the mom who lost her son today. I pray for them and all the baby angels in heaven.

A wonderful family friend and priest once told me when tragedies like this happen we cannot ask “why?” but instead we need to look within ourselves, pray and surround ourselves with our loved ones. So I pray and try not to ask “why?” Instead I try to remind myself that with our inner strength and the support of family and friends we will eventually be able to push forward - to continue being strong women for our families. It does not mean to forget any loss that you may have experienced but it shows that we can survive through it.