"A mother never forgets ..."

In The First Four Years we learn that Laura Ingalls Wilder's second child was a boy.  However, he only lived several weeks before he died suddenly after having "spasms." 

There is a book series called "The Rocky Ridge Years" which is about Laura, Almanzo, their daughter Rose, and their life in Mansfield, Missouri.  These books were written by Roger Lea MacBride.  MacBride was like a grandson to the adult Rose and she told him many stories about her growing up years.  MacBride later took these stories and turned them into the book series.

Recently while reading New Dawn on Rocky Ridge, I found myself tearing up at a chapter called "A Mother Never Forgets." In this chapter a family that are friends with the Wilders lose a baby boy.

After baby Earl's funeral, Laura goes home and sits down at her kitchen table and cries harder than Rose had ever heard her cry.  Then Almanzo began to cry.  Rose cried along with them.  When Laura finally stopped:

"I'm sorry," Mama said.  "It's just I can't help remembering our own little boy."

Papa nodded, snuffling.  "I been thinking of it myself."

"When the preacher said Earl's name, it . . . it just tore at me that we never did give that child a name of his own before we buried him," she said mournfully. 

. . .

"Oh, Mama," Rose cried out, fresh tears wetting her cheeks.  "I'm so sorry."

Mama sighed heavily, gazing at Rose's hand and caressing it.  Softly she said, "A mother never forgets, Rose.  I might not speak of it, but as surely as you have been by my side, he has always been in my heart.  When a mother loses a child, she never forgets."

   - New Dawn on Rocky Ridge, pgs. 142-143.

Lilly - 4 days old

That of course is so true.  Every time I hear about a baby dying suddenly, I think of Lilly.  I assume it is the same or very similar for people who have lost a spouse, or a parent, or children that lost siblings, etc.  We mourn with whoever it was that just lost a loved one, and we mourn all over again for ourselves and who we lost.

Eskimo kisses with Lilly (1 year old)

"He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

⁹ In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”  - Isaiah 25:8-9