I have deliberated long and hard about writing this as Ava's story is not really mine to tell. But today it has been one year since Ava was embraced by angels and, like many of you, I cannot help but reflect on 'how'.....
* How I would marvel at the beautiful photos of her that her mother had posted for our little group to see.
* How, although I had never met her in real life, I always thought that she would get on well with my own daughter - they both liked pink and princesses!
* How I will never ever forget the exact moment when I first heard....the exact place, the exact feeling. How I sat at my computer in shock after checking emails and our chat room on her progress only to realise, with a sick feeling in my stomach, that the Ava we'd come to know and love was winging her way to heaven.
* How I watched her parents grieve on that sad occasion when we had all gathered to celebrate her life and felt completely helpless.
* How I constantly look at her little plant growing in my garden and think of her.
* How she has touched the lives of so many different people throughout the world and united so many strangers through both their grief and compassion for a little Super Princess!
Today I am thinking of Ava's family and thanking them for all the times that they've shared their gorgeous daughter with us. One year on and she is still remembered with love - even by those of us who never really got the opportunity to 'catch up'!
Rest in peace and love, Ava Rosemeyer!
"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." ~ Helen Keller
