There’s been a lot I’ve been wanting to write about the past few days… Summer softball at the foot of Washington Monument, going to a playdate where G’s behavior was less than ideal, picnics in the front yard because Daddy comes home for lunch, visits from Uncle Matt and Grammie, hot weather, and so on and so forth. But this week had an unexpected turn.

My cousin died on Tuesday. In Austria while hiking on a mountain I once hiked. It took them three days to find his body. He was 18 years old and just graduated from high school.

I feel for my aunt so deeply in a way I would have never imagined until Grier was born. That is her baby and suddenly he is gone.

We’ve had some great experiences the past few days, but my mind is full and my heart is aching constantly for Mikey’s family and the grief they must be feeling. At times, it seems to smile and have a good time is to forget. But there have been few minutes my mind hasn’t been in Austria with my family who are still waiting for DNA results to confirm their worst nightmare.

God’s plan is not always ours, and we never know what tomorrow brings. Hug your babies tight.