Have you ever found out about something and then wondered, where has this been all my life? Why did I not ever hear about this before? That is what I am feeling this days about a simple product called rose water that has, apparently, been around for, oh, thousands of years.

I admit, the only reason I started learning about this at all is because the hair clip company that I am with, Lilla Rose, added it to their product list this fall. I figured I ought to know a little about it, so I started both researching it and using what they sent me. Here is the quick 411 on rosewater and five ways I am using it in my daily routine.

• Steam distilled rosewater is the result of the distilling process through which the rose essential oil is extracted from rose petals. Bulgaria and Iran are two countries famous for it and the roses it usually comes from.
  
• Rosewater has properties that make it a natural:
  • antiseptic
  • antibacterial
  • anti-inflammatory
  • antibacterial
  • antioxidant
• As such, it can be used on your skin to hydrate and moisturize, smooth lines and wrinkles, soothe sunburn, strengthen skin cells, control excess oil, maintain the skin's pH, and as a toner, reducing redness and tightening capillaries. On your hair, it can help control excess oil, reduce frizz, as a natural conditioner, to revitalize hair growth, and make hair smoother and more shiny. Along with all of this, the aroma can be a natural mood enhancer and help you relax and sleep better. And all of this without any side effects!

Wow!

With all those benefits, I've been excited to try this out. Here are the main ways I've been using rosewater in my routine for the last several weeks:

I use a cotton ball to apply rosewater all over my face after washing it, which tightens up my capillaries and reduces redness and any inflammation.

After I shower and shave, I'm spraying it on my legs to help with any nicks and dryness. I sometimes follow that up with lotion to seal in the benefits of the rosewater.

I'm keeping a spray bottle in my purse so I can spritz it on my face as needed throughout the day for natural hydration and aromatherapy. Especially in these colder months, with dry air and going in and out of heated buildings, it is a big help!

I'm using a cotton ball to massage it into my scalp to control excess oil and stimulate the hair follicles.

After I shower, after I style my hair, and throughout the day, I'm spraying rosewater on my hair to control the frizz and make it smoother. Even my kids have noticed the difference!

My conclusion after trying it out for three weeks? I love it! And I'm excited that Lilla Rose has included it in their products. The really great thing is that they have made it part of their November customer special! Until the end of the month, any retail order of $80 or more will get a bottle of Organic Rosewater (retail value of $18) for FREE, along with a Swerve u-pin ($12 value) that is great for updos! And the upcoming Black Friday sale will also give free shipping with any order over $75, so that would automatically be added in as well!

Have you ever tried rosewater? I would love to hear your experience! I was delighted to find it lived up to its reputation, and was also pleased that the Lilla Rose brand had a pleasant but not overpowering aroma. (Even my mom, who is very sensitive to strong scents, liked it!)

It's October again. You wouldn't know it in the South, where we are still having 80-degree days, but fall is truly here, and Christmas countdowns have legitimately begun.

For me, though, October mostly means pink and blue ribbons as parents of babies in Heaven observe Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. If you're on social media of any kind, I'm sure you've seen some of your friends posting about it, or changing their profile picture in honor of it. If you haven't walked this road yourself, you might wonder why it is a big deal, or you might be concerned that your friends are stuck in their grief, and not "moving on".

But nothing can be further from the truth.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month isn't really about collective grief, even though what draws the baby loss community together is the tragic loss of our children. It is about collective remembrance. It is the one month out of the year when it feels okay - or more okay than normal - to talk about the children who aren't here. This one month, we can remember them out loud, and we can encourage our friends to remember them, too. We can also let others in our club know that it's okay for them to remember their child out loud.

I say "out loud" because, honestly, you never forget. It's been nine and a half years since my daughter Naomi passed into eternity. I remember that day as clearly as if it were yesterday, and not a day goes by that I don't think of her, or her other siblings who flew to Heaven in the years since. That doesn't mean I'm "stuck" or that my days are without joy - not at all! But how can I forget the children I carried, who are part of me, and who have made me the person I am today?

And so I'm thankful for this month, for the chance to share with others the significance of the brief lives of our babies, and for the chance to remember them, out loud.

Because I will never forget.

Are you part of this club? Would you do me the honor of remembering your baby or babies in the comments below so that I can rejoice with you in the meaning their lives had, however brief they were?