Most of you have heard by now the tragic news, on the afternoon of May 23rd we lost our mama,Lori Sawyer. Mom had suffered from a long standing battle with mental health issues and addiction and it all got to be too much for her. She ended her suffering and we are working hard to find peace in the fact that she is no longer in pain andhas been reunited with our father.

As the days go by it is deeply setting in and at this point it’s been made very clear many want to help and contribute to expenses and I’ve been hesitant because that’s a hard thing to accept for most of us for sure....But it’s clear to me that my long standing role as my siblings ‘step in mama’ is one that I could use the village’s help with right now and after talking with the family it’s more than clear all the things it could help with to take some weight off of myself and my mom’s kids. 

Some may not know this but Kerry is expecting her first baby girl in August. Our mom had been down with her in the Bay Area in hopes that the excitement of preparing for the baby would bring my mom out of some of her darkness. This was not the case and we are going to be working hard to make my sisters home feel like a safe place to enter again and prepare a space for the new baby. I would definitely accept any help with that. 

Katie had her third beautiful baby girl just over aweek ago, my mother was too sick and never saw the baby and Katie is not up to traveling just yet. My cousin and I will be taking a trip to go see her and hope to eventually be able to fly her family out for a memorial after the summer. I’d love to help make those things happen and make it as easy as possible on them.

Christopher has two beautiful little girls, the second, Madison, mom had been just too sick to get to know and will have no memories of my mom. The first, Ellie, has been writing letters and wanting them mailed to let her grandmother know she’d like to see her. This is the second grandma Ellie has lost in the last 12 months. This little familyof four has been through a lot but is tough for sure and we will all rally together to be there for each other.

It has become overwhelmingly clear how many lives my mother touched and just how many wantto help with her kids and grandkids and the family and I have decided that donations toward some of these things would be what my mom would want the most and we also smiled ear to ear when we all realized how much she’d love a gathering of her closest friends and family to celebrate her life. So an outdoor memorial will be held we’re thinking in September and donations toward that would be amazing also and a huge help. We will definitely share details when a date is set and would love to honor her in a way that would be special for us all. 

From the entire family and myself thank you guys so much for the crazy amount of support you’ve been showing. I think it has spoken volumes of what an incredible woman my mother was and also what a great community we all have.