Christian country singer Rory Feek has revealed the "sad and wonderful" way his 2-year-old daughter, Indiana, has been coping with the recent death of her mother, Joey Feek.
In a new post for his blog titled Less is More, Rory, 49, shared how life has been since his wife of 14 years passed away at 40 years old after a lengthy battle with cervical cancer.
"Indy has not asked for her mama. Not one single time since Joey's been gone," Rory wrote of his young daughter. "It's almost as if she hasn't noticed that she's not here. And that is so sad ... and oh, so wonderful -- all at the same time."
Rory explained how in Joey's final months, the country singer insisted that Indiana spends the majority of her time with her father, so that Rory and Indiana could create a strong bond that would sustain the little girl as she adjusts to life without her mother.
"When we first got to Indiana in late October, Joey was Indy's whole world. She loved her mama so much and all she wanted was to be with her, beside her or in-sight of her," Rory said. "But in early November, when Joey started to realize that there was a good chance that she might not beat her battle with cancer, she made a decision ... 'he must become greater and I must become less.'"
"Who does that? Who has that kind of strength and character," Rory continued. "[Joey] let Indy fall more in love with me ... and less in love with her. She carried the pain on her own shoulders, to try to keep it off of mine. And even more so, off of Indy's."
Indiana was born with Down's Syndrome, and while Rory said at the time that "the news came at first as a surprise to them," he and Joey "trusted that God would give us the baby He wanted us to have... and He has."
While Joey spent her final days battling cancer, she was able to spend some quality time with her young daughter and celebrate her 2nd birthday with a Gruffalo-themed birthday party, complete with a paleo "Gruffalo crumble" cupcake and "owl ice cream."
"We will do our best to make it the very special day that it is," Rory shared.
In continuing his latest blog post, Rory said that while his daughter "doesn't quite understand what has happened" to her mother right now, but as she grows older, will realize the impact Joey had on the world around her.
"She may not realize right now how incredible her mama is, but she will," Rory wrote. "I have made a career out of documenting our lives, and her mother ... with songs and video and pictures and they are everywhere. I will play them for her."
Rory noted that he and Indiana visit Joey's grave "every day," and stated that when they visit her their family is whole again.
"I talk with my bride about what has happened that day, and what I'm worried or excited about ... and I share the latest thing that Indiana is doing," Rory wrote. "And for a little bit, we're a family again."
Joey entered the arms of Jesus while in her hometown of Alexandria, Indiana, after several months in hospice care and was laid to rest nearby.
Rory first broke the news of his wife's passing in an emotional post to his blog on March 4, writing that his wife is in heaven.
"Though this is, and has been, a time of many tears of sorrow, it has also been a time of countless tears of joy," Rory said of Joey's final months. "There have been too many beautiful moments to count or even begin to share ... But I try."
