By Erin Maroon
Today would have been Ashlie’s 11th birthday.
For millions of people across the world, today is just a regular day.
And I think that’s one of the hardest parts of grieving someone who never took a breath. There are so many families like ours, remembering babies no one else got the chance to meet.
If we hadn’t started Ashlie’s Embrace — saying your name and talking about you almost every day in some way — most people probably wouldn’t even know that 11 years ago tonight, you quietly entered the world at 11:22 p.m.
You had a head of thick, wavy hair, beautiful long fingers and full, pouty lips. AJ looks like you when he sleeps. It’s beautiful and breaks me at the same time.
At 22¾ inches long, you would have been pretty tall. Maybe a basketball player like your brother? Or would you have been in theater? Would you be obsessed with Taylor Swift, or would you vibe to some Celine like your momma?
While the Earth keeps turning, part of me is stuck on October 28, 2015, when we packed away our hopes and dreams for you and traded them for advocacy and awareness.
Because of you, other families now have choices we didn’t have. I’m so grateful for that. But I’ll never stop wondering what could have been.
We miss you more than we could ever say, and we love you so much.
Happy birthday, Ashlie. 
Blog | Notes from Erin – Today would have been Ashlie’s 11th Birthday
