Three More Angels in Heaven

It's been a tough few days. I've heard the saying "things happen in threes" before, but I think this is the first time I can actually agree with it. Our very good friends were pregnant with twins, I think about 23+ weeks along, and we learned that one of them has died. We know all the logical things--something must not have been right, God has a plan...but at the end of the day, it really sucks and is unbelievably unfair. Our hearts are breaking for them.

Growing up in Bemidji, I had a pretty idealic upbringing. Great family-oriented neighborhood--May Day baskets, great for trick-or-treating, neighborhood theater performances. And "adopted grandparents" Edie and Johnnie. Edie would make hot dogs with a slit down the center and put cheese in the center; it was my favorite meal at her house. Johnnie died several years ago and Edie had been in a nursing home. Edie joined her husband in heaven on Monday. Although her passing is sad, I know she is beaming from ear to ear seeing Johnnie again.

Tuesday morning, St. Scholastica's head baseball coach, John Baggs, lost his battle with cancer. Eddy was an assistant under Coach Baggs for nine years, before leaving for UWS to head his own program. Coach turned CSS's program into what it is today--not only an incredibly talented team, but he has fostered a community of current and past alumns that rivals any other. Every Fall at the Baseball Alumni Weekend, 200+ current and former players, along with their families, get together to celebrate CSS baseball. As a self-described "outsider" who married into this community, it is truly an incredible group. Of course I am a biased, but Eddy worked his tail off for Coach. But it's the hard work and opportunities afforded to Eddy, given by Coach, that has allowed my husband to hone is craft and get his dream job. For that, I will be eternally grateful. But Coach was more than a baseball coach. He has a wife and two young children. At age 42, his death comes much too soon. If we could give his family any comfort or sense of peace, we would. As Eddy and I put Isaac down to sleep last night, everything else in life--worry about bills, jobs, schedules that seem too busy--fades away, and we realize how blessed we are to have each other, our son, and baby-to-come. Baggs family, we are sending you our love.

Three more angels are in heaving, watching over us.