Preschool Fundraiser in Honor of Blair Kennedy

Dear friends and family,

As many of you know, our third daughter, Blair Evelyn, died and was born on March 15, 2021. Only having four hours to hold her, we had so little time with her and a lifetime of imagining what her life, and our lives, could have been had she lived. Our hearts were shattered and we continue to navigate piecing together a life we had not imagined. As there are no adequate words to describe how it feels to lose a child, we choose to show the world our love for Blair and hold space for her in our lives.

We focus on ways to honor her, big and small, so that she remains close to our hearts. One of the ways we choose to honor Blair is through an annual fundraiser for her birthday to support the school classroom Blair would have attended. This year Blair would have been in Pre-K at Highland Catholic with her sisters, so we have collaborated with the wonderful preschool director and are raising money for new equipment for the preschool/kindergarten playground.

Please consider donating in honor of Blair, a current or former preschooler you know, or a loved one who has passed away. Please also share this fundraiser with anyone else who may want to support preschoolers.

Thank you for considering and thank you for being a part of our community.

With love,

Ashlie, John, Quinn, Piper, and Reese, with Blair in our hearts

A letter to Blair on her birthday.

Dear Blair,

Happy 4th birthday, Love. I imagine this past year you would have leaned into being a big sister, trying your best to boss Reese around and attempting to keep up with your big sisters. I imagine you, number 3 of 4 girls, parading behind your sisters as you make your way to the playground or run into the backyard. I imagine you would want a purple themed birthday, but Piper would try to convince you to do a birthday theme that had sharks or dinosaurs or turn your birthday into a St. Patrick's Day theme. I imagine talking about preschool and you continuously reminding me that you are in Pre-K, not preschool. I imagine you wearing your sisters' old uniforms to school even though Pre-K doesn't require a uniform. I imagine what it would feel like to hold your hand as we walk into your classroom and am certain I would need to insist to your sisters, at least most of the time, that I would like to bring you to your classroom instead of having them walk you inside. But of course this is all in my imagination because you aren’t here to tell me the answers to my infinite questions about who you are and who you want to become.

The ambiguous loss of losing you grows each year and the grief of your loss will be ours to hold forever. At the same time, we hold on to the joy we feel when we feel your presence, and we will also hold on to that forever. We look for you in the sunbursts through the clouds, the cardinals we draw to our bird feeder, the butterflies we see in the summer, and most of all, in the personalities of each of your sisters, sisters who deeply feel your absence and also feel your presence.

We love and miss you.

Mama