The Regret of Not Meeting My Nephew

The Regret of Not Meeting My Nephew

Life is a complicated mixture of a professional and personal life.  A catch 22 or bittersweet example of how people must work to live the lives they deam appropriate or necessary.  However, at times, we as people forget that the most important pieces in life do not involve a job, a home, or money.  The most important pieces in life involve family and love.

I have always been and always will be a "go getter".  I am ambitious, charismatic, and have a strong desire to succeed no matter what I do.  At times that desire takes me away from what matters most.  I know I am not the only person in this world who has been told that I am a workaholic, that the job comes before everything else including family, and that I take on too many projects at one time.  And this was true until I missed one of the largest impacts of my family which has become the biggest regret of my life.

My oldest sister Stacy was 25 weeks pregnant when she started experiencing dangerous pregnancy complications.  Because of the severity of these complications, Stacy had to give birth to her son early. Caelan Rivera O'Connor was born December 20, 2007, 15 weeks early. My sister, although concerned about the early birth of her first son, was excited to meet her precious baby boy and was thankful for her miraculous Christmas gift.

As my sister was going through these tough times, I was currently working a retail gig.  At the time of my employment, I was working ridiculous hours, usually from 9am-9pm, five days a week.  Because I worked in a small retail store that only consisted of five employees, I was under strict obligation to never miss work.  So when my sister had her son, I was unable to leave work to meet him and see my sister.

This was regretably the biggest mistake of my life. On January 12, 2008, only a few short weeks after Caelan's birth, he passed away.  When I heard the news, I had begged my boss to let me go and be with my family, and he said no.  I should have left.  I tell myself all the time that I should have just left.  But I didn't for fear of losing my job, and because I didn't leave I never met or saw my nephew in person. I can never get back that time when my sister and family needed me and I wasn't there.

I was able to attend my nephew's funeral where I saw the last pictures of Caelan.  Stacy connected with a fantastic organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.  This organization brings in professional photographers to photograph the precious last moments of parents and their sleeping babies. Because of this organization, I was able to see pictures of my nephew and my sister with her son.

My sister is the strongest person I have ever met in my life. Stacy has had to endure the loss of two little boys, Caelan and Liam.  Stacy lost her son Liam at 16 weeks and gave birth to him sleeping.  Although she has faced the worst possible scenario twice in her life with her children, she remains strong and goes on living for them. My sister is the mother of two beautiful angels, and she is very proud of her angels.

If you would like more information on the organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, please visit their website at http://nowilaymedowntosleep.org.

And friends in Colorado, if you would like to walk with my sister and me for Caelan and Liam on October 4th, 2014 at the NILMDTS Remembrance Walk: Our Journey Together or donate to our team, please visit https://fundraising.active.com/fundraiser/CaelanandLiam  .

Brandy Vasquez