Annie Young Thomas
March 7-17, 2014
High on the list of "blog posts I never wanted to write" is a post about the short life and death of one of my nieces. Anyone who has spent more than 20 seconds with me in the past 7+ years knows that my nieces and nephews are pretty much perfect. Tyler, Bryce, Lauren, Tanner, Carly and now Annie are
the cutest, smartest, most creative, and most talented children ever to grace this planet. We like cookies, parks, ice cream, Disney movies, gum, new clothes, and ridiculously overpriced little shoes that are Just Too Cute. If we feel like swimming or sledding at 7:00 am, we do. We have a car, a credit card, and a shameless inability to hear the word "no."
When I learned that my newest niece-to-be was showing signs of anencephaly, my reaction was unequivocally NO. The doctor was wrong, the internet was wrong, the prognosis was just plain wrong. No, no, no. Ultimately, however, the diagnosis was not wrong. Annie did prove to have anencephaly and a life expectancy of just hours. But, like all my nieces and nephews, Annie is exceptional. Her 10 days on earth defied all odds and exceeded all expectations. While Aunt Traci is not surprised by this, I am incredibly grateful.
Grateful that Jess (aka Annie's Mom) taught us that the time to enjoy Baby Annie was NOW. It was Annie's turn to place Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning.She had gumballs with her brothers, ice cream at the candy store, and a special road trip to Grandpa's house where she was the guest of honor at Annie's Tea Party.
Grateful that grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were able to gather for Annie's birth. That the first news I heard was that Annie was here and she was nursing. That we got to hold her and feel her strong little grip around our fingers. Grateful that her Daddy was able to give her a name and a blessing in the most wonderful priesthood circle that I will ever see.
Grateful that Annie got to come home in a car seat in the gray van with her parents and brothers. Grateful for family pictures and shopping trips to buy pink onesies we didn't think we'd buy.
Grateful for a full week with Baby Annie at home, during which time we never let go of this precious baby. Even her diaper changes could attract a crowd of 4-20 helpers, with many additional virtual participants over texts, phone calls, and facebook.
When Annie did pass, we had a beautiful service in Idaho and she was buried with her Grandma Thomas in Centerville. We said goodbye to her with pink balloons, primary songs, and testimonies of our Heavenly Father's perfect plan. Tyler and Bryce drew pictures of their Forever Family and said prayers of thanks for Annie.
At the burial, Annie's Grandpa Young reminded us to live in the joy of Annie. And so we will, with continued reverence for this miracle baby and the gift of 10 days that we didn't dare to hope for but we're eternally grateful to have been given.
PS - Don't believe anyone who tries to tell you that I let the boys "borrow" pinwheels from other gravesites to run around with at the cemetery. That's a vicious lie. Sure, I don't know how to say no to them. But even I have standards.
