Vince's Journey

Obviously, it has been a while since my last post. I've thought about doing an update many times over the past 6 months but I'd get to the blog and see my post about Morgan and I couldn't bring myself to write anything new - nothing seemed more important than what I wrote about her so I'd read it again, think about Morgan and sign out of my blog. Yesterday, almost 6 months to the day she passed away, Morgan was buried at the Gate of Heaven cemetery in Montgomery. It was a very short and intimate service. Everyone in attendance was family, only of few of her aunts, uncles and cousins were unable to attend. The service was very emotional - there were many tears, hugs and I'm sure memories of Morgan going through the minds of everyone in attendance. In a very poignant moment, everyone was invited to place something (a note, piece of memorabilia etc), in her vault so there was a piece of all her loved ones with her in her final resting place. One by one family members walked up to the vault and placed their personal items inside. It was very moving. Most of us then left to allow her immediate family to spend a few final moments with her. We then went to the Silver Spring House to be together and celebrate her life. The past six months have obviously been difficult for the family. I'm amazed by the strength her parents, Jerry and Leigh, and her brothers have shown since her passing. Memorial Day weekend we attended the annual dance recital for the studio she was a part of for many years and they did a beuatiful tribute to her just before intermission. In August there will be dance to benefit MorgansMiracles, a foundation that has been set up in her honor to support local scholarships and charities. Her father, Jerry, has become involved in an organ donation program that ironically is in the same building as his office at Catholic Health Partners. It is truly amazing how people have rallied to keep Morgan's spirit alive. But it doesn't take away the hurt that still lingers after 6 months, it still doesn't seem real. And from my standpoint, I just feel helpless - you want to help but you don't know what to do, I want to be supportive but I don't want to force myself upon anyone, many times I just don't know what to say which hurts even more. I can feel the hurt and inside I know there is nothing I can say or do to help it go away. It's heartbreaking. So for 6 months I avoided saying anything, at least on this blog site, and I feel it's time to break the silence. And I just want to say to Morgan's family - Jerry, Michael, Connor, Patrick, Erika, Aidan and Leigh - that I love you guys, that I'm inspired by the grace and love you've demonstrated over the past 6 months, and even though I am a relative I can't begin to imagine what your lives have been like since you received that phone call back in early December. I think about Morgan and all of you more than you'll ever know and she was and always will be a blessing to us all.