This will be the most difficult post I write.

Many of my followers and all of my dear friends and family know why I have such a love for daisies. But, for the ones who may not know, I’d like to share with you a little about my story. The reason I love daisies. There is actually a face behind this beautiful flower I hold dear.

My fondness first started when I was real young. Too young to remember really. My grandmother, my momma’s momma, had a love for daisies.  So, they have always been very special to me! This white, soft petal beauty brings back a lot of special moments with my grandmother. Like hearing her sing hymns while standing at the kitchen sink “wershing dishes” as she would say in her sweet southern accent. Or, playing endless games with her at the kitchen table as we giggled and laughed at the silliest things. Or, watching tears stream down her face when we pulled out onto the Quarter G highway to head home.

But…the real love for daisies came the day my baby girl was born. August 25, 2000.We had a difficult time deciding on her name. A few names made the list, but we just couldn’t decide! Having three older children, all starting with ‘A’, we knew that an ‘A’ name was our only for sure thing!! We narrowed it down and made our name choice the day following her birth.

Her name is Aislynn. Pronounced Aze-lynn. And yes, she is as unique as her name! If you’re wondering how we found her name…the good ‘ole internet of course! And of course, I modified it (the name I originally saw was Aislin) and I’m not sure if it was meant to be pronounced the way we do either?…but none the less, it’s ours!We were sitting alone in her hospital room, my husband and me…just in awe this tiny, precious miracle that we held her in our arms. We began chatting about her name and what would big sissy call her? At that time our oldest daughter was 5 and was really into rhyming everything.  I mean just about everything! “It’s time to go, where are my shoe-zie woo-zies”? she would say. Or, “may I please have some juicy-lucy”? We began chuckling at this rhyming thing she had goin’ on and out of my mouth just came the words…‘Aisy Daisy’. That was it! That was the start of this beautiful-life-long-love-affair with daisies!  Not a moment since then has gone by without this connection to our girl! Knowing how dear they were to my sweet Mamaw has made it so-extra-special too!Our baby girl grew up being surrounded by these beautiful, delicate white flowers. No doubt it was and still is her icon! She answered to multiple names too…Aislynn of course, and ‘Aisy’ was and is a favorite among many. Some people just called her ‘Daisy’, and a lot of the time she’s been referred to as ‘Aisy Daisy’. And then there’s  plain ‘ole ‘Ais’ that made the list of names too. Since her middle name is Sue, she’s even answered to ‘Daisy Sue’ more than a time or two. My husband, my strong one, even made up his very own, one-of-kind special name (only used by him) Dais-a-lynn! Another one of his favorite made up names is ‘Slynn’…mainly only used when they did their version of what they called The Slim Shady Hand Shake! And…she loved them all! ❤️When I spoke at her funeral I shared the story of how I often told Aislynn she reminded me of a daisy. Starting with the strong stem. She was a strong one for sure! Not just because of her illness and what she endured, but she was certainly strong-minded! Strong right to the very core. Not afraid in the least bit to tell you what was on her mind. Nope not at all! And strong because she would stand up for what believed in…without an ounce of hesitation. Sometimes this even meant she’d stand alone. She didn’t mind, she was proud to stand up for her beliefs and fight for what was right. But then there’s also the soft, delicate petals that represents her amazing pure heart! Full of love and compassion…always on display for all to see and admire.  A real gift! A rare treasure! But, I think my favorite part about the daisy is the bright-yellow center. My girl…never met anyone brighter! A ray of sunshine. A beautiful ray of sunshine! She could light up any space she was in! You could always, always tell when Aislynn was in your presence. From her silly-playful-ways, her never-ending singing and laughing and even her often sassy, eye-rolling attitude she blessed us with as she would stomp off (goes back to that strength I mentioned earlier haha). One of the biggest adjustments our family has had to make is the quiet-ness of our home now. Aislynn surrounded our space with so much life!

A beautiful mixture of personality for sure! Just a wonderful blend of strength, love, beauty, faith and playfulness!

I also mentioned when I spoke at her funeral about how during our final days I layed next to her and imagined she was holding her daisy. Her single daisy. Picking off the petals saying “He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not”. She indeed was left with one petal remaining! HE, without a doubt, loves her! Loves her so much He called her home! Much too soon for my liking for sure, and yet I rejoice knowing she is resting safe in His arms! I rejoice knowing she is happy! I rejoice knowing her bright-yellow bubbly personality is shining so brightly right there in the midst of the most beautiful place. I rejoice knowing He loves her and she knew what it meant to love Him right back!As my dear friend has often pointed out…God gave me (us) a beautiful way of seeing our girl this side of Heaven through daisies. A beautiful way to be comforted through this wretched pain. A beautiful way to feel her presence. I am in constant awe of the endless places they have popped up these past several months!  Maybe someday I’ll share some of my ‘Daisy Sightings’ as I call them. I never imagined how special, how meaningful they would become. But God knew. God knew what I would need long before I did. I am so grateful My Comforter allowed those rhyming words to spew from my mouth that day, and so grateful my graceful one developed a silly habit of rhyming back when she was five!

Knowing that God knew what I what would need in this beautiful reminder of daisies also reminds me that He will always know what I need. Even if it means this wretched grief.

Today is a really hard day.

Happy 15th Birthday sweet princess.  Today we celebrate you! Although our hearts ache with immense sadness, we celebrate your precious life and give thanks for the days we had here with you this side of Heaven.  And as you would often say…”I love you to infinity and beyond”. Always on my mind, forever in my heart. Can’t wait to be in your bright-yellow presence again My Aisy Daisy. All My Love, Mom