Saturday, May 11, 2019

Almost 23 years ago, Jay and I had our first baby - London Nicole.  She was beautiful and perfect.  And she was stillborn.  We held her and loved her and grieved over her premature death.  I think about her often but especially I think of her on her birthday, May 30th, and on Mother's Day.  Over the years, I've been blessed by the friendship of many incredible mothers, many of whom have lost one or more of their children.  This lullaby is for all of these mothers, friends I've met and friends I haven't, who are celebrating Mother's Day without one of their children.  I honor you for your courage and vulnerability in the face of wrenching loss.  I honor you for the power you show when you wrap your arms around another mother who grieves.  I believe our children honor us, too, even though they are not here to give dandelion bouquets, or sticky kisses, or homemade cards.  I wrote this song, Lullaby, as a gift from these children - no longer with us - to their mothers.  I believe that there have been moments since their loss, when they have held and comforted us, the way we once held and comforted them.




My youngest son, Lincoln, is the singer. He and I did a fair amount of crying while he learned this song and while we practiced it together.  Thank you, Linc, for being brave enough to sing a hard song in order to give a voice to other children who are silent for now. I am positive that we will see our sons and daughters again, that they will be ours to love and laugh with, and that the Savior will be with us in their absence.

Special thanks to Coray McClellan who did the videography for this project.  https://vimeo.com/coray