News from the Room
Six years since saying our first hello. And six years since our final goodbye.
This year has felt heavier. New types of waves crashing in. Watching our son begin to understand and then try to come to terms with the fact his sister is never coming home.
Seeing him confused and upset that she can’t have the birthday cake he helped make for her. Then seeing the smile on his face when he gets to blow the candles out on her behalf.
It’s hard to find the right words for these moments. Heartbreaking to watch him wrestle with these new emotions at such a young age. But also joyful to finally share Billie with him in a real way.
The pressure of preparing for my Guinness World Record attempt, while building the Scooting for Hope live event and chasing a $100k fundraising target, has added to the tightrope walk inside my head this year.
Anniversaries and milestones tied to loss will always be hard. It’s ok to let yourself wallow in that. It’s a sign of how much that person meant and still means.
But it’s also important to give yourself a break on those days. Which is why last weeks newsletter was absent.
SCOOTING FOR HOPE
24 Hours - 1 Scooter - 1 Purpose
$100K for Pregnancy after loss Care
The 411
This Week at Room Eleven
Scooting at Calder Park Raceway
I headed to the track for a scooting session, but the weather had other plans. Rain and wind made it tough to even push the scooter. Still, it was worthwhile. I met with the livestream production team and our new event management partner to map the space. Their ideas look promising, and they’re working on the layout now.
Perinatal & Infant Mental Health Conference Workshop
On Thursday just past I helped run a workshop for the Stillbirth CRE where I shared my talk on Grief, Growth & Resilience and Billie’s story. The session went well and it’s always great to share my lived experience and help, in some way, on improving grief literacy. I look forward to the next one.
At Home
A lingering chest infection has been making the rounds at home the past couple weeks. Training has been patchy, but I’m planning a longer scooting session next week.
Enjoying this Newsletter - Subscribe to Room Eleven Today
Weekly Musings
What I’m Watching: Come Hell or High Water
Come Hell or High Water is a documentary about Hurricane Katrina and the systemic failures that happened after that caused more damage than the storm itself.
I knew about the levee breaches and the flooding of New Orleans, but not the full depth of how much it changed the city and the culture of New Orleans still to this day. With years before the storm, scientists warning it was only a matter of time. The rescue was sabotaged by politics and poor communication. And as usual in these types of disasters, the ones that suffered the most, the poor, the elderly and the disabled.
Watching it feels essential. It’s a powerful reminder: when systems fail, real people suffer.
What I’m Reading: Gilbert’s Cake
Gilbert’s Cake by Emily Mir is a children’s book that was sent to me by Emily herself after I posted Billie’s birthday cake on socials. Emily wrote Gilbert’s Cake for her son Gilbert, who was stillborn in 2010.
This beautiful story is about Hattie, one of Gilbert’s younger siblings wanting to make a birthday cake for her brother’s 7th birthday. It’s a story that obviously resonates with me and will for many bereaved families.
I read it with my son and is a great book to help spark the conversation and help explain to him about Billie. It’s beautiful, sad, honest. It’s also comforting to read that every family going through this have their own rituals or traditions, whatever they may be for their babies gone too soon.
Some weeks carry more weight than others. Grief shifts shape over time, showing up in new ways, and life’s pressures often run alongside it. Balancing those two can feel like walking a tightrope.
The reminder is simple: small acts of love matter, and the time you give to the people who matter most will always outweigh the hours lost to work or pressure. On the hard days, it’s enough just to get through. On the better days, focus on what truly counts.
If you’d like to help us keep moving forward with Scooting for Hope and the work of Room Eleven, the best way is to share this newsletter, spread the word, or reach out if you’d like to get involved.
See you next week.
Rob
✅ Share this newsletter with someone who might need it
✅ Listen to and review the latest Room Eleven Podcast
✅ Help us raise $100K for Scooting for Hope by sharing our campaign
