Anthony James

My heart hurts today. Four years ago today my nephew passed away. He was 4 years old. A babysitter was not watching him and he jumped into a pool. He fought hard for a few days in the hospital before he went to Heaven. I am his Auntie Lilly. We tried to teach him to say Auntie Cindy when he first started talking, but he refused and would only call me Lilly. I love him so much.

I think about him often but even more so on this day and his birthday. I remember when he painted Rock's Tonka truck with nail polish, when he colored down my hallway stairs with red permanant marker, and emptied an entire bottle of air freshener spray in my bathroom. I'm glad that each time I laughed with his mom for him doing those things. He never walked, he only ran. He was always on a mission, loved Harley's (Harley Bikes, as he called them) and racecars. I miss him and wonder what he would be like today.

His parents were brave enough to donate his organs. After he passed away I noticed butterflies constantly around me. I'd see them everywhere, but even more special they would fly right in front of my face, or sit on the edge of a my window. I mentioned this to other family members and we cried when they were having the same experiences. A few months after he went to Heaven, his mother and I went to an special event to honor family members for donating their loved one's organs. The parents were given special ornaments, some birds, some angel wings, each different. When Melissa (Anthony's Mom) opened her box to look at her ornament there was a beautiful carved white butterfly. I know Anthony's still with us in spirit. I love him so much and wish more than anything I could still give him big hugs, even if they were just for a second before he was off and running again.