Day #12:  Scents

I can still remember the smell Clara carried with her everyday….Baby Magic mixed with a little Desitin.  The thing is, no 2 of my babies smell the same wearing it.  I remember bringing her clothes home from the ER and her car seat from daycare knowing it was the last time I would smell her in our car.  Neither of us wanted to lose that smell but we knew we couldn’t leave her last load of laundry undone forever.  We washed her clothes but left her bed and sheets for a few months.  Being able to walk into her room and be reminded of her was comforting.  We finally washed the last of her things about 4 months after her passing when I finally had enough of family members shutting her door and telling us we were “dragging on everyone’s grief” by leaving her bedroom together.

Today I still miss her scent and wish I had just one item of hers that hadn’t been washed.

TIP:

If you are trying to help out a family who has just lost a child, be sure to check with the family BEFORE you wash all the child’s belongings.  You never know what you will wash away.  It is something that can’t ever be replaced.