Sleeping angels

Last night I had a wake up call. It was a huge reminder of why I should never forget how lucky I really am. I was lying in bed looking up images on google of 5 month old babies (I wanted to see what Max looked like compared to other 5 month olds). If you've ever used a touch screen phone you'll know how easy it is to accidentally click on the wrong link or thumbnail. That happened to me and I'll never forget the picture I had clicked on.

It was a beautiful baby boy, I think his name was Ethan. He wore a pale blue knitted cardigan with matching beanie and he had a small soft Teddy in his arms. He was 5 months old or perhaps it's more accurate to say he was 5 months gestation. He was a sleeping angel. He wasn't alive.

I clicked on the website the picture came from because I wanted to know more. It took me to a page that was a tribute to sleeping angels. I saw pictures of other babies who would never be taken home to the nursery their parents prepared. They would never cry at night and keep their bleary eyed parents awake. They would never have their first day at school.
I realized then that this page was probably the only way their parents could share these pictures. They couldn't have plastered them on Facebook like the rest of us. They probably wouldn't email them to relatives overseas. They probably wouldn't text them to friends and family. Right then and there I wanted to tell every single one of those parents "your baby is beautiful".
We all have a lot to be thankful for.