105. ‘Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep’ and Providing Remembrance Portraits to Parents Experiencing the Loss of a Baby (with Coordinator and Volunteer Melanie Rodger)

In this tender and moving episode, I revisit my conversation with Melanie Rodger from the nonprofit organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep—a group that provides the priceless gift of professional remembrance portraits to parents grieving the loss of a baby.

Melanie shares her own story of losing her infant son and how that heartbreaking experience inspired her to volunteer—and later work—with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Through her vulnerability, compassion, and insight, Melanie reminds us that healing and service often intertwine in profound ways.

This interview originally aired in May of 2024, but because October marks Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I wanted to reshare this important episode to honor those families who have faced unimaginable loss and to remind anyone walking that path that they are not alone. 

Links mentioned in the episode:

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Website

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Instagram

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Facebook

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Transcript

Melissa: This episode is definitely a tender one as I feature the nonprofit organization Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. I give parents experiencing the loss of a baby a free gift of a professional portrait. My guest, Melanie Rodger, has experienced that loss herself with her own baby boy. She's volunteered in different capacities with Now I Lay Me down to Sleep, including as a photographer and and also now works with their organization. So she shares her own tender story and also gives us some good insights and stories about the good and tender work Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep does. I originally shared this episode in May of 2024, but I wanted to share it again now because October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and I feel it's important to continue to encourage these conversations and mostly to let anyone who is experiencing those losses know that they're not alone. Welcome to the Do Something More podcast, the show all about service where we highlight the helpers who inspire us all to do something more. If you're passionate about nonprofits or looking for simple ways to volunteer and give back to the causes that matter to you, this is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Melissa Draper. Stick around and I'll show you all the many ways anyone can truly make a difference in our world today. Today we are featuring the organization Now I Lay Me down to Sleep, their nonprofit organization that offers portrait sessions to grieving parents who have lost a baby. And they do that as a gift to help them in that process, but. But also to honor the legacy of those precious babies. And so this, of course, is going to be a tender conversation, but I hope, also an inspiring one to help anyone that may be navigating a similar loss or for those that want to serve and support those that they know and love who are grieving and going through that process. But today on the podcast, I've invited Melanie Roger as our guest. She works with Now I Lay Me down to Sleep and. And she's also volunteered. And it was the loss of her own baby son that led to her to want to volunteer at that organization. And we get to hear more about her story and her experiences today. So, Melannie, welcome to the podcast.

Melanie: Thank you for having me.

Melissa: Well, let's just start off a little bit. I would love you to start with your own story of going through that process and that loss and how that has led you into what you do now, the work that you do with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.

Melanie: So I was pregnant in 2010. I found out that I unexpectedly was going to have a baby. And I was just 19 at the time, so it's kind of like earth shattering. I'm like, oh my gosh, my whole life is changing. And I, you know, even in that felt invincible and felt like nothing could go wrong. And, you know, I'd read stories online and think, oh, that, that would never happen to me. You know, I'm young, I'm healthy. You just didn't, you didn't hear about those things happening in my, in my world outside of, you know, being a lost parent. And so when I, yeah, was pregnant, I had a really healthy pregnancy. I didn't have any, you know, like alarms or red flags that came up until about 35 weeks. So 35 weeks into my pregnancy, I had a doctor, I kind of had like a clinic. And so I would rotate OB, OB GYNs that I saw. And I just so happened to see a different one at 35 weeks than I had been seeing previously. And they were not alarmed, but were like something maybe a little bit different. You're measuring smaller than where you should be at 35 weeks. But my husband at the time, he and I both were smaller babies. And I, I have a longer torso, so I just kind of figured maybe it's just the way that I'm carrying. That's what the doctor that I had previously seen had been telling me. So at that 35 week appointment is when they were kind of like, let's just keep an eye on you. Let's just keep seeing what happens. So then at 37 weeks, I ended up being diagnosed with a condition called intrauterine growth restriction, which essentially just means baby is restricted on their growth. The placenta is kind of like, hey, I'm, I'm done. And typically what ends up happening is baby is just born early. They may have a NICU stay to help with their lung development. And you don't really hear a ton of horror stories when a diagnosis is caught in that situation. So my mindset just shifted really quickly to, okay, we're gonna deal with a NICU stay. We have to make sure that his lungs are developed. Not a huge deal. The only, like, kind of tricky thing is that we were stationed in a small military base in Japan. So being, you know, 20 years old by the time this came around, we both were just kind of like, oh, okay. Like we're facing some really big changes, challenges by ourselves. We didn't have, you know, support, family nearby or anything. So he was born just after 37 weeks. I had a very long induction. Again, doctors were really reassuring of, we're just going to need some time in the hospital. It's just going to be like a NICU stay. The hospital that he was born at didn't have a nicu, so they had assumed he'd be fine just on the oxygen they could provide and the stuff, steroids that they could give him. Quickly after he was born, they started to realize that it was more severe than that and that they did not have adequate equipment to help him. They ended up life flighting in a crew from a different military base in Japan. And after 32 hours, he passed away. It was very abrupt, very unexpected. We went from, like, planning, you know, this extended hospital stay to him dying. And yeah, it was. It was tough. It was really challenging. Felt really alone and just really isolated and really didn't have an answer as to what had happened and, and why, you know, like, why we went from expecting to be in the hospital to him just being gone. So I got online when I got home and, you know, just searched for anything and everything that could make sense of what was happening. And I just wanted to not feel alone. I ended up finding a different. A few different kind of online communities and just reaching out to people who were of a similar age and had lost a baby. I came across. Now I lay me down to sleep at the time of that Google search, and I was like, oh, my gosh, like, this is incredible. I wish that someone would have advocated for me to take pictures. And after he passed, we were in the hospital and a nurse came in and asked if I wanted to hold him, which I hadn't held him while he was alive. He was alive for 32 hours. And that entire time he had been, you know, with the nurses and doctors who were helping him. And I had always assumed, you know, I'll hold him when. I'll hold him when we're going home. Of course, yeah, I didn't take that time, and I wish I would have pushed for that, but I didn't. Didn't know any better. And then when that nurse asked that question, my gut reaction was, no, I didn't hold him while he was alive. I don't want to hold him now that he's dead. You know, that felt odd. It felt morbid. It just wasn't something that I understood. I'm grateful to this day that my best friend was sitting in that room with us, and she looked at the nurse and she should go get that baby. She's going to hold him. And the nurse that brought him in, she actually had lost a baby herself. And, you know, she's like, you don't have to hold him for long, but even if you just hold him for a minute, you know, this is a. You don't get this. You'll never get this opportunity again. And so I held him for like five minutes. It was really hard and obviously very, very sad. Yeah. I didn't know what to do. And I, I felt so grateful in hindsight that I had people in the room who really advocated for me that day and pushed me outside of my comfort zone because I would have lived with regret forever. Yeah. After years of navigating being a parent without their baby, living and going through a divorce and moving to Seattle and really just starting my life as a 20 year old and kind of backtracking and having these life experiences and just navigating a new, new way of life, I moved to Seattle in 2012. I met this amazing community of parents who've lost children through a support group. And they kind of like took me under their wing and I got to like, you know, love them and watch them have children and be auntie to, you know, all these new babies. And it wasn't until the end of 2014 I met my husband now and we went on to get married in late 2015. And then I got pregnant with my rainbow baby, which for anyone who doesn't know what that is, a baby born after a loss, pregnant with him in 2017, and he was born in February of 2018. Holding him and seeing him and having that experience of like having a living baby that I actually got to take home is really what brought me back to that moment of, of leaving the hospital without my first son. And those people that were in the room at that time and who were advocating for me that I really felt called to, to give back and to be a part of, of other people's stories in a way that those people had been for me.

Melissa: I can't imagine having to go through that is a lot to go through at such a young age. So many tender experiences.

Melanie: Yes. I grew up very quick.

Melissa: Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure. And then as you said then you had that experience later to realize, hey, I think even whether you're young or not, that kind of experience is just nobody prepares for that. We hear about, I think we all know, we all have friends or family members that have gone through losses, but nobody prepares you to go through that experience yourself. And as you kept saying that word, advocate, that is exactly what you need in those times is someone willing to advocate for you. So that's what you were going into. You can go ahead and continue with those.

Melanie: Yeah. So at the end of my second pregnancy, I had met a local mom who actually works for the organization. And it was like just the universe had put that in place at that time because I had heard of Now I Lay Me down to Sleep. I'd known about them for eight years. I knew that it was something I felt called to be a part of, but I couldn't do it until I had my own, you know, child at home. And I had had that positive experience and knew that I could survive what had happened. So after my second son was born, I reached out to her, and I was like, what can I do? You know, I have this new baby. I have been a photographer my entire life. I know that I could technically take these photos, but I wasn't sure how I would feel walking into that space and, you know, as a lost parent, but then just as an empathetic person, and this is a common conversation that I have with people is like, I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I could do that. And so I signed up to volunteer as an assistant. So I would go with Allie on sessions. Going, you know, going through this application process would allow me to go on sessions with Allie. And then I also signed up to be a dispatcher. So when the calls come in from the hospital, the dispatchers find a photographer. And I found just even being a part of that, the dispatching experience, I was still, like, being able to help families because I, you know, I had this, like, gratification of, like, yes, I did it. I found a photographer who could go. I was around. I think my son was about 8 weeks old. You know, the schedules aligned, and I was able to go assist Allie on the first session. It was a very unique situation. The family had already said goodbye to the baby by the time we got there. And we were in this really small, like, closet. So we were in this really tight space, and the nurse brings the baby out, and it just wasn't what I had pictured the experience being. It wasn't what I had, you know, thought that I would have wanted. And I ended up leaving that experience questioning, like, oh, my gosh, is this something I can do?

Melissa: Like, yeah, what am I doing?

Melanie: What am I doing? Yeah. I also then got diagnosed with postpartum anxiety. So it was clearly not the time in my life to be in those spaces. So I kind of took a step back from the assisting part for a while, maybe about a year And I just kept dispatching and I. I found a lot of fulfillment out of that. And then, yeah, as I got, like, my mental health better and I felt more confident that nothing was going to happen to my living son, I started venturing out more with other photographers and assisting them on their sessions, and then really worked up the confidence myself to just say, okay, I'm gonna do this. You know, I know how to be in the room. I have seen a variety of spaces. And what I came to find out very quickly is that that first experience that I had is it's never happened again. Like, I've never. I've never been in that situation again. And every. Everyone is just so unique.

Melissa: Right. I'm so interested that you mentioned how that postpartum anxiety, because I think we'd be kindred spirits. I can definitely to that and that desire to serve and to want to help, but to realize that sometimes our emotions don't always allow us to do it in the complete way that we want and needing to respect that. But I think that's so great that you still found a way to serve through that until you could be in that healthy space to serve and to give a little more. So thank you for sharing that as well, because I think a lot of people and women especially, would relate to that. So that's how you got started volunteering was with the photography and taking the pictures?

Melanie: Yeah, well, I actually didn't start volunteering as a photographer until November of 2019. So I was involved for about a year and a half. So my son's ninth birthday would have been November of 2019. And I kind of give myself that goalpost of like, okay, like, give yourself, you know, enough time and enough different experiences to build that confidence to go out and actually do it. So, so excited to get approved for his ninth birthday. And then I went out on my first session by myself in January of 2020. And then fast forward, like, major pandemic. And, you know, I thought I would have this different experience. And instead it became so much more than I even thought it was going to be. We had incredible teams of nurses who really advocated for their families in that time. And it was May of 2020 that we started having an exemption to be allowed into some hospitals and being able to serve families in that way. So what I thought, like, signing up in 2019 as an affidavit, as a photographer was like, oh, I'll be able to go into the space and, you know, help families and advocate for them in ways that people, you know, advocated for me and just kind of normalize what we do and that it's okay to do this. It's okay to want these pictures. It's okay to touch your baby and hold your baby. It became so much more because I then became the only person who was meeting these babies. And, you know, I had experiences that first year of siblings never getting to meet these babies, but I was the one. And then my images became so much more than what I thought they were going to be, because it became the only way that families ever got to know that these babies existed and they weren't allowed to see them in funeral homes. And all the complications that happened during that time, my photos are it for them. And that became so impactful and so. So much larger than I thought it would ever be.

Melissa: Right. Yeah. And I love that that's part of the mission of Now I Lay Me down to Sleep. Isn't just for that grieving process as good as that is, but to create a legacy, to acknowledge the life and the loss of these babies and to have that forever for those families to have. And I think that really is a beautiful mission. And as you said, something like the pandemic really brought that into focus, how necessary that is.

Melanie: Yes, yes. And we had been working on a program to help train nurses, and it had been work in the works for about a year. And then the pandemic hit, and it was like we were sitting in this space with this program that would help teach nurses how to take photos in a situation if a photographer wasn't available. And we were sitting there with that, and it was like, wait, we can reach these families still. You know, we can reach them through providing this training to nurses. And so we fully launched our medical program. It was massive, and it took very quickly into the nursing world and was able to help families even more during that time because there was a resource that was available for them, so that.

Melissa: Was actually using the nurses to help you take and document and do these. Some of the things. Yeah.

Melanie: So one of the things that is really important is that not every area has photographers. And that's part of why I'm excited to be here today and talk about. And talk about that is that a lot of times people have maybe this idea that, oh, I live in a big city, so there's probably plenty of people who are already doing this and, you know, out there taking these photos. But that's. That's not the reality. We're always in need of volunteers. And the design behind the medical program is to kind of fill that gap, maybe it's like a smaller rural area or even a big city and somebody's schedule just doesn't align. So that was kind of the idea behind the medical affiliate program. Yeah. So we had it and, and just kind of put it out there to the world and it's still something that is, is used. Our first choice is always going to be a volunteer photographer because they're skilled, they are providing a professional quality image. They have the equipment and the knowledge to do that. And that's really what, what we want to provide to families is that that image that's going to last. A legacy. Right. It's not a cell phone image.

Melissa: Right.

Melanie: You know, quality image.

Melissa: Well, I would just love to have you take us through the logistics a little bit for someone that's not as familiar. You kind of talked about it a little bit of being a dispatcher and a photographer, but just take a minute to take us kind of through that process as someone wants that service and then what, what happens from there. Yeah.

Melanie: So typically in this situation, most of the time it's very unexpected. People go into the hospital and they're expecting to have a baby or expecting maybe to be put on bed rest, kind of deal with some complications. So if, let's say a mom walks in to labor and delivery, finds out the baby no longer has a heartbeat, they'll get admitted to the hospital and start that process. The nurses themselves are our biggest advocates. They are the ones who are there in front of the family presenting them with this option. So if a family says yes or, you know, it's like maybe I, I'd want to do that. The hospital will reach out to either a photographer directly or dispatch line. Just depends on the area and what's available. And then that dispatcher or the photographer individually will kind of look at their schedule and see kind of timing wise, what works. For example, you know, I have a kindergartner, I work, you know, I have a busy life. My husband works outside of the home. And so for me, I typically can't go until like maybe 7 o' clock at night or after dinner or if it's during the day, I can, I can sometimes make that work too. So there's a lot of flexibility in how much, like how quickly you get to the hospital. It's a really flexible position in that way. Unless the family is being discharged, you know, in a quick time frame, they're typically there for 24 hours. We're not in a significant rush to get there before there's no, there's no time window from birth to us having to be there.

Melissa: Right. You have some. Some time to navigate.

Melanie: Yes, yes. Which makes it really convenient from a volunteer perspective. And I also think it helps families also kind of have. Take a moment and take some time to kind of spend time with their baby. And from having given birth and then having somebody walk in your room immediately after that is. Can be a lot. So I think, you know, there's never any rush to get there. Right. In that instant because of the quality of image we provide. We retouch all of our images to remove those signs of demise. Anything that wouldn't naturally be there from a live birth gives us that opportunity to kind of cater to volunteer schedules and working individuals and that variety of people.

Melissa: And I saw you, they're always black and white as well.

Melanie: Yes. Yeah. We offer black and white retouched images. And a lot of our. You know, like when I walk into a room, I always introduce myself and I always tell mom or dad or, you know, now in the last couple of years, there's been more family members back in rooms, which has been really special. Or I'll have like grandpa or somebody take out their cell phone and take pictures with me so that they have something immediately when they leave the hospital. And they also have that color version of those images as well.

Melissa: Right. And then does the photographer touch them all up or do you have other volunteers that do that?

Melanie: Yeah, so we do have digital retouch artists. They are like the most amazing, skilled, brilliant human beings. They have extensive Photoshop knowledge. And I have seen them just do the most amazing things for families. They are a resource to our photographers. We also have photographers who can do both. I personally am not that person. I wish. I wish I was that great at Photoshop, but I know, not being that. That person who can do it, it's amazing to just have like a. Almost a counterpart. Right. Who can take the images that I take because I can physically get to the hospital and I can be there and I can send them over to somebody who can retouch them for me. And a lot of those retouch artists aren't people who go out to hospitals. So that is the way that they.

Melissa: Give back and serve. Yeah, yeah.

Melanie: And they have a lot of fulfillment in being able to do that.

Melissa: Such a beautiful way to use all of those.

Melanie: They're a team. There's like so many different levels of people who are involved. You know, it's not just one person who goes out and does all of the work for these sessions. There's always a team behind. Behind that. So it's really. It's a really, really special volunteer community. I tell people all the time who are photographers. This isn't like your regular photography club, where it's like, cutthroat and competitive. You know, these are people who have the same heart and drive and selflessness and want to help each other give the best that they can to families. And so I constantly see conversations happening of, like, favorite poses and the way that they were able to do that. And it's just a really collaborative and beautiful, beautiful space.

Melissa: Yeah. Learning from each other with those experiences, too.

Melanie: Yeah. In supporting each other. I mean, there's definitely been times where I have been in the most heartbreaking scenarios ever. And we do have a community space where we can talk about those and support each other through that, because this absolutely is emotional work. It is something I tell people has the most honor attached to it. I can't. You know, like, I wake up and I'm like, wow, I can't believe that, you know, I've had 75 different families who have allowed me to be in their space. That honor is so deep, and it runs through everything that I do, and I never forget any of them. And it's hard, though. There's definitely some. Some really, really heartbreaking scenarios. You can watch a family who's tried to have a baby for 12 years and have IVF and they're 40 weeks pregnant and have a stillbirth, and you see that, and you see babies, you know, families who get an undiagnosed, an incompatible with life diagnosis and have to make, you know, really hard decisions. And, yeah, it's. It's a lot, but it's. It's so, so, so rewarding.

Melissa: Yes, as you said, such an honor to be invited into that sacred space. Space. But that is the reality is it is emotional work. And I'm sure that you have to make sure, as a volunteer and someone who's serving to make sure you're realizing that reality as well.

Melanie: And, yeah, and I do tell people it's okay to have emotion. We do train our photographers that, you know, if you're overly having an emotional outburst to please, you know, obviously, please excuse yourself from the room. But I have definitely cried with families, and they appreciate knowing that we're human beings who also care about, you know, what's happening to them. And so when I hear people say, oh, I'm too emotional, I wouldn't be able to do that. It's okay to have emotion. We don't expect you to be emotionless and not care and not have a heart. And we have a lot of support for our volunteers to be able to help them navigate the scenarios that, that they do encounter and be able to help them.

Melissa: That's good. All supporting and working together towards a good cause. Something I thought was interesting is I. You have some beautiful stories on your website. I'll put a link if anyone wants to go and read some of those stories. But something I thought was interesting and you mentioned this in your own story as well as many times parents or families aren't sure they want a picture or they're kind of hesitant to do that or as you were hesitant to hold and, and then they explain how they're. They're so grateful that they did later.

Melanie: Yeah.

Melissa: So that, that seems to be like a common feeling, but then the gratitude for having that later is a common feeling as well.

Melanie: Yeah. Death is still very taboo as a conversation and the death of a baby is. Is even more taboo. There's a quote that talks about how if you lose a spouse, you're a widow and you know, the different names for different types of losses, but there is no name associated with a parent losing a child because that is, that is how taboo it is to talk about. We don't want to talk about it, we don't want to see it. We don't want to know that that's a reality. But it is a reality. Right. There's over 20,000 stillbirths alone in the United States every year. And I can, you know, almost, almost guarantee that everybody knows somebody who has been through the, the loss of a baby, a miscarriage, a stillbirth pass away of sids or, you know, there's a variety of different ways.

Melissa: Yeah, I think it is starting to be talked about a little more. Social media and other things have helped with that.

Melanie: Yes.

Melissa: But as you said, it can be still kind of an uncomfortable. You know, it's just, and I know sometimes just how to even express that loss or, or communicate what you're feeling can be, can be difficult as well. So, yeah, good to have these good organizations that are helping families and advocating and walking through that process. But I always love to include on the podcast just that encouragement for others to serve. And so the question I think I would ask you this time is, as you said, this is something that I think most of us, if we haven't walked through it ourselves, we've seen or know someone walking through it. And sometimes in those sensitive situations, we might feel hesitant or we don't Always know what to say or what to do, even though we have the desire or a heart to serve and reach out to someone. So I would just love to have you share on your website you have, again, some really great ideas for family and friends that want to serve and support someone going through a loss. But I would love to have you share some of your own ideas or encouragement for anyone that's wanting to serve and support someone in their own way that's navigating the loss of a baby.

Melanie: I tell people that the majority of families who have lost a baby don't want to pretend that it never happened. And I think one of the most important ways that you can support the people that you love is just by acknowledging that their baby existed. If you see somebody close to you who has lost a baby, put their baby's birthday in your calendar and just send that text message every year of, you know, like, happy Birthday, I'm thinking of you. Parents didn't forget that that happened and they're never going to forget that it happened, but they will notice who else remembers with them. And it's an easy way to just support the people that you love. Obviously, I will plug. You could volunteer with us, of course. Now to sleep. I have helped grandmas who, yeah, have lost their grandchild become volunteers with us. I have had dads and moms and aunts and uncles and just a variety of different people who have come to us and have wanted to give back because someone they love received services from us. But yeah, the easiest way to just be there and support the people you love is just remember, like, don't be afraid to talk about it with them. Don't be afraid to use their baby's name and acknowledge that they existed because they don't forget.

Melissa: And you are all over the nation.

Melanie: So yes, we're all over the US and Canada and then we also have a presence. We have a chapter in Ireland and in South Africa, but our predominant area is North America.

Melissa: That's great. It never gets old to acknowledge those losses. I know my own parents lost a baby at six days old and my own daughter ended up being born on his birthday.

Melanie: Oh, that's really sweet.

Melissa: Oh, that's something I still acknowledge with my own mother. I mean, she, she's almost 80 years old and, and I know that loss is, it was, it was still a real experience for her. But yeah, to celebrate it with my daughter and to realize there's still, still good and beauty to be found in the experience.

Melanie: Yeah, I remember having a conversation with my father in law after our son was born and explaining to him like what a rainbow baby was because he was like, what is that? I don't understand what that is. And then my mother in law looked at him and was like, you're a rainbow baby, remember like your, your older brother died just after birth. And she went on to share the story of how her mother in law never forgot him and never stopped talking about him until she passed away in her late 80s. And it was just really special to see like that that legacy has carried on through generations all because she wasn't afraid to talk about it and she wasn't afraid to remember that and encourage people to remember him with her. Right.

Melissa: Even just sharing the story. And so, and so I want to thank you for sharing your story and experience there at the beginning, but also all these beautiful experiences that you've had as you've served with Now I Lay Me down to sleep. Any final thoughts or things you wanted to share?

Melanie: No, I mean other than don't let the fear of emotion stop you from being a part of, of somebody else's story. And for advocating for them, we would obviously love to have you volunteer with us. But just as a general statement like don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Emotions, there's support for emotions, but these are once in a lifetime moments that you people don't get to redo so you can be that positive influence during that time.

Melissa: Oh, that is beautiful, Melanie. That is a whole nother podcast in and of itself. I love that. Don't be afraid to let those your own emotions keep you from serving in very real and powerful ways. And I would add, sometimes helping someone else walk through the same heartache that you went through yourself can be a good healing process as well. So. Well, thank you so much, Melannie. I appreciate you taking your time to come on the podcast today and share your experiences. And again, I will leave links to the website so people can learn more about Now I Lay Me down to Sleep and how to get involved.

Melanie: Thank you for having me.

Melissa: That was my interview with Melanie Roger with Now I Lay Me down to Sleep and I'm so impressed by that reminder she left there at the end. Don't let emotions stop you from being part of somebody's story and advocating for them. What a great message to share that I think applies in so many different ways of serving and wanting to make a difference and do good in the world today. And I love the sense of community she shared that she has found within this organization. So if you want to learn more about now I Lay Me down to sleep or get involved in any way. They had so many different ways you could volunteer with their organization. I will leave links to their website and their social media in the show notes so you can go and learn more about them and possibly sign up to be a part of what they do. And I would also like to encourage you if you thought of someone who would benefit from this episode and the messages shared here today, please share this episode of the podcast with them and I will always take your good reviews and five star ratings wherever you listen to your podcast that helps others see this kind of inspirational content that I am creating here. You can also follow the podcast on social media. I leave links to to all of those in the show notes as well. And as always this week I hope that you can find a way to do something more to help list, inspire or make a difference.