There is an optical effect called the ‘waterfall illusion’. If you have ever watched the credits scroll by at the end of a movie, or scroll a computer screen, and then look at a still picture, it appears to move in the opposite direction.

A similar thing happened this morning, when I looked in on my niece. She didn’t seem to be struggling with her breathing any more. Then I realized she wasn’t breathing at all. But, as I looked at her, it seemed as if her chest was moving. I could not find her pulse, yet it still seemed that her chest was moving ever so slightly.  She twitched her head once. Surely she was breathing. But surely it was my own mind superimposing a motion on her body that I thought should be there.

There is nothing worse than a child dying before a parent. I’ll never forget the image of my sister-in-law resting her head on the head of her departed daughter.

Mother and Child
16″x12″ 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Block

This quick sketch doesn’t convey the sadness of the situation, but I hope it captures the love.

Thank you dear readers for your support during the past few days. It means a lot to me.