Y’all, it has been an emotional 24 hours for me. Yesterday, I learned of the passing of a precious little boy, one who I “met” through Instagram, though I don’t actually know him. And despite never meeting his acquaintance, this news has shaken me to the core. I follow a number of creatives and bloggers on Instagram and while casually checking my feed, I noticed that several of them shared news about Ryan. He was playing in front of a family member’s house on Friday and was hit by a truck as he went after a frisbee that escaped into the road. My heart aches terribly as I type that. It was supposed to be a normal day, for a normal family, with a 3.5 year old doing normal 3.5 year old things. And in an instant, everything changed for them; their nightmare began.
Shortly after learning of this family’s tragedy, I had to go to an event I was photographing so I didn’t allow myself to really get into the emotions that swirled around in my head. For a few hours, my life went on while time stood still for Ryan’s family. I spent the night surrounded by moms who chatted about their kids and joked about having a much-needed night out (I too, needed that night out!), but as the festivities ended and we all returned home to our families, my mind went back to Ryan and his family. As soon as I joined Troy on the couch, Bree’s sleep music chiming in through the monitor, I lost it. I couldn’t stop crying. I felt a little silly to be soooo upset over a boy I didn’t even know, but as a mother, ugh, it’s the MOST gut-wrenching, breathtaking, shake-your-core thing to even begin to imagine. I had never let myself think about it before now, and my stomach ached as I sobbed for this family. My mind raced with thoughts of Ryan’s sweet mom, how his family and friends were grieving the loss of such a beautiful boy who was suddenly and tragically taken from them. I cried so hard for them, prayed so hard for them, and thanked the good Lord for another day with our girl.
This morning, I snuggled Bree a little longer than usual and smothered her with kisses. As I held her, I took another moment to pray for Ryan and his family. I read Alissa’s original blog post about what happened, and cried again for Jacqui and her husband. I feel so compelled to help share their story, and to ask all of you wonderful friends and followers to do the same, to honor Ryan’s memory and the incredible love that his family and friends had for him. My Instagram feed is still abuzz with their story, with images of a beautiful, curly-haired boy, and ways to help this family in their time of unimaginable despair. PLEASE show them your support and share Ryan’s photo on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (you can use the hashtag #RedBalloonsForRyan, and check out that hashtag for images you can share) — I know the Saldana family can feel the love and prayers from everyone sharing their story and the memory of their boy. It’s overwhelming to see how many people, from all across the world, are mourning with them and helping to keep Ryan’s memory burning bright.
Many artists and vendors are coming together to raise money for the Saldana family as another way to offer support, with 100% of the proceeds going to helping with funeral costs, etc. If you would like to do a little more to help this family in their time of need, please consider buying this tshirt designed by IndieNook, this beautiful balloon print, cherry bomb red mocs, or by making a donation via the wonderful moms at Thrive Moms. Just searching ‘Red Balloons for Ryan’ on Etsy or via Google revealed even more artists who have created items to honor Ryan and donate to his family. There are so many ways to offer support, it’s truly moving.
Throughout your busy day of working, chasing kiddos, running errands, lunching with friends, and simply living your life, please stop for a moment to lift Ryan’s family up, sending thoughts of peace and love, offering support in any way that you can, and showing them that there are a bunch of people out here who share in their loss. May they never feel alone.
BE HAPPY WITH THOSE WHO ARE HAPPY, AND WEEP WITH THOSE WHO WEEP. -ROMANS 12:15
