It still catches me off guard… I still have to stop and pause… to try to quickly assess… how I will answer the question.
It can depend on who asked it… where we are… how many people are around… if I might make someone feel sad or embarrassed for asking… if I will ever see them again… how I feel… if Bryan is there… is it a man or a woman… do they really want to know…
and so on and so on.
It is not a trick question… I know the answer… I have since February 27, 1990.
The answer is 2…..
Yes… 2…
“My baby” 1990
But it is never an easy answer for me now… how do I say it… where do I start… which one do I start with…
do I tell ages… now or then… do I say I have one in Heaven and one on Earth…
do I say how it happened… and so on and so on.
Christmas 1990
The Question?
“Do you have children?”
The Answer is 2…
Lauren, our daughter, who was 21 when she beat us to Heaven… 3 1/2 yrs ago
and
Taylor, our son, who is 23 and works in Austin, Tx.
December 2000
The answer will always be 2…
2 children that I love beyond measure…
ALWAYS HAVE…. ALWAYS WILL.
Easter 2008
Lauren Alston Foundation ~ LAF 
Yes you do…ALWAYS 2 my friend!!
ALWAYS and FOREVER…2 precious children…
my prayers and sympathy remain with you always…
I love you!
Love you Suzanne!
It is a tricky question and one that never seems to get easier to answer. It always surprises me the number of parents I know who have walked the path of the death of a child. It can feel so “unique” and then suddenly others start opening up to this private experience that felt so individual to only me. Each persons circumstance is distinct, each path different; but the missing family piece is very …well, missing. The Valley of the Shadow of Death takes many forms….sometimes rocky and thorny and then other times green and lush and quietly peaceful. It is a tricky thing trusting God’s Love that this is for good, but trust I must or I will injure myself. So, trust I do and look forward to a day of reunion –while trying to live fully the life before me now so I won’t be ashamed when I see my Savior and my son.