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WELCOME TO LIFE
IN GRIFFINLAND
Our journey with Williams Syndrome & Congenital Heart Disease
One mom's honest perspective and a family's journey through the waters of CHD and a rare genetic disorder.
A place of support, encouragement, and comfort for all those traveling similar roads with medically complex children.
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The Hardest Part: Choosing Grace
I am often asked what the hardest parts of sharing a life with Grief are. The courageous people go on to ask how best to show up for...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Jul 1, 20256 min read
A letter to those grieving through Christmas:
Quite a few of you have reached out sharing your hurt and struggle as Christmas draws near. For some of you, it's your first Christmas...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 24, 20246 min read
Unraveling
It's been eight months without Griffin here. It's not new anymore to the rest of the world, but for my heart it might as well be...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Aug 18, 20246 min read
Take the picture…
Take the pictures…lots and lots and lots of them. Memories are strange things, and the human brain - maybe all brains - have this skill...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Mar 5, 20244 min read
There’s Purpose In the Pain (Reflections a year later while navigating grief)
This month is going to be hard. One year ago this month was the start of our whole lives changing forever; the month that marks a year of...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Mar 2, 20244 min read
The Chronicles of Griffin (Part 1)
Griffin was born on March 14th, 2021 (Pi Day for the non-nerds and dislikers of pie). He was 4 days overdue and despite everyone's best...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 19, 20237 min read
Letter To Heaven (1)
Dear Griffin, My heart, my soul, my beloved, my sunshine... We've been home for 3 full days now, and it's still not home. I'm not sure it...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 14, 20232 min read
The Many-Faced Monster
It's not at all what I thought it would be, this monster we wrap up so tidily under the simple guise we named Grief. I can wax poetic...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 5, 20233 min read
Bring Me To The Desert
It's cold and wet here now, the beginnings of winter. I look out Griffin's window at the grays, blues, and small flashes of reds and...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Nov 30, 20232 min read
Things We Find In The Mud
As I watch Griffin battle between wanting to sleep and wanting to be awake and playing; reaching for me in between soft cries that...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Nov 27, 20233 min read
The letter I never wanted to write to you…
My dearest, most perfect, soulful little boy - my one and only Griffin, How do I count the ways I love you? How do I tell you enough how...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Nov 19, 20234 min read
Hurt Hearts
I didn't know before Griffin my heart could ache like this. That it could withstand months and months of near-constant supreme highs and...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Sep 15, 20233 min read
Stand Beside Her
Happy Independence Day to all our fellow Americans! 🇺🇸🎆🎇 Confession: it took a lot for me to post that. I’m not very happy today, in...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Jul 4, 20233 min read
Waiting Rooms
I'm sitting in one of the waiting rooms while they attempt to close Griffin's chest after having it open for 14 days, despite his lungs...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Jun 13, 20232 min read
Defiantly Choosing Joy
We are on day 5 of ECMO and all the usual rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs, hopes and then subsequent uncertainties. We've been...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Jun 5, 20233 min read
Dear Griffin
It's the night before your surgery to finally repair your heart. When I woke up this morning I didn't expect this, though, in hindsight...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
May 30, 20232 min read
An unfiltered and honest response
People ask me all the time, "How are you doing?" I never know how to truly answer that. Do you really want to know, and how much time...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
May 28, 20236 min read
The Weight of Motherhood
A lot has happened since my last post... I have said many, many things I never thought I would: "Griffin has gone into cardiac arrest."...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Apr 14, 20232 min read
2022: Our Year in Review
Charles Dickens's first paragraph in A Tale of Two Cities is what keeps running through my mind as I try to summarize the past year for...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 31, 20227 min read
A Fond Farewell
I haven't had the words, hence my absence on here. Between our surprise baby coming 3 months too early, Griffin being admitted emergently...
Jess @ Life in Griffinland
Dec 20, 20224 min read
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