Being away from your child is hard in a way I don't think you can fully explain until you're living it.
Haylie and I are used to doing life together. The normal everyday things. Running errands. Talking about absolutely nothing and everything. Laughing over something ridiculous. Being able to hug each other when one of us is having a bad day.
Now, there are miles between us, and lately, that distance has felt especially heavy. 💔
With so many changes happening in our lives, we've both been struggling with our mental health and adjusting to a new normal. We miss each other. We miss our routines. We miss getting to be part of all those tiny, ordinary moments that never seemed important until we couldn't share them anymore.
Our little adventure buddies 🧸✨
So we came up with an idea. 🥹💕
We each decided to get a stuffed animal.
But not just a stuffed animal.
We're going to take them along for our everyday lives and adventures. When we go somewhere, do something fun, have an ordinary day, discover somewhere new, or just need a little comfort, our adventure buddy can come too.
We'll take pictures of them wherever we are and send them to each other.
It's our way of saying:
“You may not be here beside me, but you still get to be part of my day.” 💜
And, of course, they needed names.
🦈 Dean Saylor
My little blue shark is Dean Saylor. I chose his name because it has special meaning connected to Haylie. He'll be the one coming along with me wherever I go, carrying a little reminder of her. 🩵🌊
He's ridiculously adorable, complete with his little anchor, ocean waves, hearts, and tiny shark smile. I already love the idea of seeing where Dean Saylor ends up as he tags along on my adventures.
🌱 Neville Pecan
And Haylie's little plant buddy is Neville Pecan. 🌿🤎
Haylie chose his name because it has special meaning connected to me. When she takes Neville Pecan along on her adventures, she'll have a little reminder of me with her too.
And LOOK AT HIM. 😭 The tiny plant. The pecans. The little face. I cannot.
A little piece of each other
This might be one of my favorite ideas we've ever had. 🥹
To someone else, they might just look like two cute stuffed animals with silly names.
But to us, they're something more.
They're a way to stay involved in each other's lives when we can't physically be together. They're conversation starters on difficult days. They're something to look forward to. They're an excuse to send a picture and say, “Look where we went today!”
And maybe most importantly, they're a reminder that distance can change what our relationship looks like without changing the relationship itself.
There will be pictures of Dean Saylor and Neville Pecan doing normal things. There will be adventures. There will probably be completely ridiculous photos. 😂 There will be days when one of us isn't doing anything exciting at all.
And that's kind of the point.
Because I don't only want to share the big moments with my daughter.
I want the ordinary ones, too. 💕
I am already completely obsessed with them. 😍
And I can't wait to see where these two go next. 💜✨
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