I have been following your blog for about a year. I don’t remember how I stumbled upon it but I distinctly recall Ava’s sweet beautiful face and just falling in love with this superprincess through your words and photos. All I could think as I pored over each one was “how”?

This evening, over dinner with my parents, we got onto the subject of the seaside which soon turned to accidents and of little ones gone too soon. It was then that I learned of a ‘family secret’ from my father – an older cousin of mine, who drowned, aged 7, on a beach trip with my grandparents and has never been spoken about since. I never knew of his existence until this evening, and something inside me broke apart. It wasn’t so much his passing that upset me, although that hit me, too; but the fact that for the last 30 years, my whole family have simply pretended he never existed. A clever, funny, bouncy 7-year-old, just gone. I am sure they have their reasons for reacting in this way, but I immediately thought of you Sheye, and beautiful little Ava, and what a wonderful, amazing, beauty-full job you are doing of preserving her sweet memory.

I know it’s not a job you ever want to have to do; but please know that you are doing it so SO very well.

xx

I love a good frock.