Pieces of Ethne

The last few days I have really been missing Ethne.  I look at Mr. E every day and see so much of her in him that sometimes it hurts.  He is so sweet and at the same time such a stinker at the same time.  He has so much hair and so much personality to go with it.  Daily I wonder what Ethne would be like, how much hair she would have, the toys she would be interested in, the clothes she would pick out, the sound of her voice, the pictures she would draw.  And I can't help but wonder how much of what Mr. E does are things she would have done at his age.  But then I stop myself because if I think about it too long I cry.

When an older person passes they leave stuff behind.  Clothes, journals, pictures, furniture, heirlooms, houses, cars, the list could go on and on, but the stuff they leave behind often creates a legacy.  When a child dies often they don't leave that much stuff behind.  Children don't journal, they don't drive, they don't buy houses.  They leave behind physical reminders such as clothing and toys and they leave memories.

Ethne's puppy

About a year ago I posted about moving from the apartment that Ethne helped us choose.  I felt like we were leaving parts of her behind.  I was afraid that our new home wouldn't have the pieces of her that our apartment did.  But we brought pieces of Ethne with us.  We have the cedar chest made by loving hands and filled with her clothing and toys.  We have her elephant, her stuffed puppy, molds of her hands, and a lock of her hair.  We have pictures to hang on the walls.  We have Mr. E and his red hair.  But more than that we carry pieces of her in our hearts.

We remember her goofy run and her mischievous grin.  We still love her as we did before.  And we cherish the pieces of Ethne that she left behind.  She may not have left much, but she did still leave us a legacy.