Several of you have asked about the Walk to Remember, so I thought I'd write a short post about it. There were definitely a few parts that were less than great, like the Celine Dion song performed and the cheesy poems read, but I'm glad we went. I plan on volunteering next year to make it better! It felt good just to see Elle's name written down and to know that the focus of the morning for my family was to remember her.
The walk itself was short but nice, and afterwards everyone there (about 60 or 70 people) walked to a small field for the balloon release. Everyone there was given a tag for their baby on which they could write his or her name and a message, and then we tied them to the balloons. We had a pink balloon for Elle, but people had blue balloons for their boy babies, and white balloons if they didn't know the baby's gender (like if the baby was miscarried too early to determine gender). Looking around the field at all those balloons bobbing in the wind and knowing that each one represented a real person, however small, was just overwhelming. The event organizer read each baby's name, and as the name was read, that baby's family released their balloon. The balloons flew up into the sky, becoming smaller and smaller until they faded away. I don't know why but it felt important to me to watch each balloon until I could no longer see it. While we were standing there I also took my time to remember each of the babies lost by my friends and people I know who were unable to be there. Although I don't talk about Elle often (besides to Grant) I think that's one of the things that's most important to me: that she is not forgotten. I guess I was just trying to make sure the other babies weren't forgotten, either.
Thanks for reading this and remembering her.
5 comments:
Thank you for taking the time to post about the event. I was thinking about you Saturday. I love that you'll be taking an active role in making the event even better next year. How's the tree you planted for her at your Mom's house? I often think about that too. I always thought that was such a special thing that you and your family did.
It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years.
Love, Whit.
Hi Whitney-
Thanks for your comment and for thinking of us.
The tree is getting bigger. It's been fun watching it grow, showing it to Maggie and telling her it's her sister's tree. I kind of missed its blooms this spring; they came and went quickly (symbolic, huh?) I'll try to post a photo of it next spring.
I'm glad you were a part of that. She will not be forgotten, especially because she has so many people who love her. You should take a picture of the tree, too for your blog, that would be neat.
Court, I agree with you as you know about the pluses and minuses of the Walk to Remember event. It felt important to me to be there with you and I wouldn't have missed it. The opportunity to remember and honor Elle was precious to me. It was an emotional day for me and I find I'm teary writing this. It's hard to put all the strong feelings I have down on a blog but I am very glad I was there. I'm glad you will be a part of the planning next year as I know it will be better knowing your gifting and your sensitivity. For me the most meaningful part was the balloon release. We will always remember and always miss our beautiful little Elle. I love you. Mother
Courtney,
That is so very cool. I did not even know there was an event like that. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful picture of such a hard event. I've never asked about Elle because I never knew what to say. I'm so glad to know that you and your family can remember her in multiple ways.
Anna
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