For Alyssa

This post is for Alyssa, our precious little niece and cousin who passed away last year on May 25, 2017 from Rett Syndrome.  We love her and miss her dearly.

We wanted to do something special to honor Alyssa's memory today.  The name Alyssa is derived from the tender little flowers called Alyssum.  In the world of flowers, Alyssum means, "worth beyond beauty".  We decided to plant some Alyssum so we think of her everytime we look at them.

I have planted Alyssum a long time ago and I only knew of it as a little white flower.  I went to Calloways to find some and they only had purple.  I had never heard of purple Alyssum.  It was pretty but I wanted white so I went to another nursery.

There I found only yellow Alyssum.  At first I was upset because I had expected to get white.  However, as I looked at the little yellow flowers they reminded me of SpongeBob which was a show Alyssa used to like to watch.  I felt a lot better about getting the SpongeBob Alyssum now.  However, when I got home Stuart pointed out that the purple Alyssum would have been nice too because purple is the color that represents Rett Syndrome.

Today is the one year anniversary of Alyssa slipping back to Heaven so we planted the little Alyssum flowers on the front corner of our house.  They are small plants now but they will spread about 6-8 inches and together they will fill the little flower bed once they are grown.

I also wrote a little poem for Alyssa.

Your warm, sweet smile and sparkling bright eyes
Beamed like rays of sunshine in our lives.
You were a cherished angel on loan to us from Heaven.
It's been a year since you left but our pain hasn't lessened.
Your precious life here was too brief
And our shattered hearts still cry in disbelief
That the angels called you back to Heaven,
A beloved child of not even eleven.
God now holds you in His loving hand.
His perfect timing we will never understand.
Though you are gone we still feel your love
As you shine down on us from the brilliant stars above.

We love you, Alyssa!  We will continue to pray for a cure for Rett Syndrome so that no more families have to say goodbye to their sweet little girls.