3:33 pm: London is the Reason

I have faced infertility for 14 years and just went through a surrogacy journey in 2021. This journey ended in tragedy. We went to our surrogate's planned c-section on July 14th, and at that time our daughter no longer had a heartbeat. We were beyond heartbroken, and the passing of our daughter, London, will change us forever. My husband and I chose to grieve with the intent of helping others. We started a non-profit organization to support surrogates, and their intended parents after infant loss. The organization is called www.LondonistheReason.org. It was very clear that London's purpose in life may not have been long, bust she made a strong presence and will continue to. 

We decided quitting wasn’t an option, and chose to start a new surrogacy journey in August 2021. We chose a new surrogate that had been on two other successful journeys in the past. She was beyond special to us. To be able to walk into such a heavy emotional tragedy and not think twice about saying yes to us when asking if she would be our surrogate was exactly what our hearts needed. On August 29, 2022, she delivered our healthy, beautiful, and perfect son, Ford David.

I was drawn to a Mini Dog Tag Necklace that had a time engraved on the front. At the time I didn’t know why I was so moved by this piece, but I figured if it was meant to be a piece in my life that it would all fall into place and make perfect sense. Once I decided on the tag with the time on the front, I spent some time thinking about how I could relate this necklace to my life. It didn’t take long to decide this would be a gift for someone that changed my life forever.

On the front of the tag reads 3:33 pm. This time represents the time that I first reached out to our surrogate and introduced myself asking if she would be interested in taking on this life change with us. The back of the tag is the date the communication was started. This date would change our lives forever and flip it upside down in the best way possible. I got chills when I went back through my phone to get the exact time I reached out to her. When I saw 3:33, my heart stopped. My favorite number is 333, and I see it all the time and have for most of my life. I knew at that moment that God was working and I needed to let go and be still.

- Kristin McQuaid