Sunday is Gold Star Mother’s Day, and every year I create a new card for the Gold Star Collection. This year’s design is Hearts Knit Together. This design is dedicated to Kim and Jeff. They lost their son in Afghanistan back in 2015. I’ve gotten to know them through volunteering at the USO here in Portland. They both are such loving people, and the loss of their son has been devastating. He was a vibrant, bad-ass kind of dude that is so admired and missed by all who knew him. And even those of us who didn’t know him.
The first Gold Star card I designed Light Cannot Be Dimmed is dedicated to Pat. Her son was a Navy Seal. She is passionate about keeping his memory alive. She told me she dreads the thought of him being forgotten. She’s not the only Gold Star Mother who feels that way. I’ve heard it often. There is a wonderful memorial at his High School. He was raised in a small town in Oregon, and is known and remembered well by that sweet local community.
Freedom Waterfall is dedicated to Linda. Like Pat, I met Linda through the Blue Star Mothers of Oregon. She has two sons serving in the military. She lost one of them and deals with the constant struggle of keeping alive the memory of the one she lost and staying present in life. She has moved on better than many Gold Star Mothers have. She is of course honest about the struggle, but she is a fiery woman and finds peace in knowing Brennan was doing exactly what he wanted to do and felt called to do.
Tears is dedicated to Marilyn. Marilyn recently released a book Empty Branch: A memoir about how she has dealt with the sorrow of losing her son David. Marilyn told me once that as a Gold Star mother she feels that the families are also very forgotten. She too has pressed on through her pain, and her new book is a lovely tribute to the journey.
I’ll tell you more about them in Sunday’s blog. I’m also preparing to do a Facebook
When I started 2MyHero, I wasn’t thinking about doing sympathy cards at all. I was thinking about wanting to encourage my nephew who was deployed in Iraq. Not too long into his deployment I got a call from my sister in law. “Hannah, you’re going to hear about something that’s happened in Iraq on the news, but all I can say is Nathan is ok.” After sitting in stunned silence for awhile (I’m not really sure how long it was), I started praying for the families connected to those who got a different call than our family got. Then I went into my bedroom and just cried. I knew then I needed to expand my vision for 2MyHero to include sympathy cards.
As my journey on this path has continued I’ve met many moms who have lost sons in combat. A couple of them lost children in active service, but not in a combat zone. They hold a very special place in my heart.
I will give you one hint – both blogs and the Facebook live are being created in coordination with 4 Spirits Distillery.
OK, one more hint – the toast will be with an infused vodka I brewed at home using 4 Spirits Distillery Vodka as the base. Tomorrow’s blog will be about how to make your own infused vodka!
You can purchase the Gold Star cards in packs of 4 on our website. They are also sold on Amazon.