Wednesday, August 21, 2013

August 19th: Day of Hope


This weekend my good friend and I spent some time making beautiful prayer flags in memory of our daughters. I've never been crafty so I am always pleasantly surprised when I do a decent job. Avery has given me the inspiration to craft and I have to say it is very therapeutic.

Monday was the International Day of Hope, a day for remembering all of our babies gone too soon.   A day aimed at breaking the silence and a day to remind us that there is still hope. I am so very thankful that I truly have hope in the knowledge that one day I will be with my little girl again. And that hope gets me through each morning that I wake up without her and each night when I go to bed with her only in my heart.

For this of you who read this who've never lost a child, please understand that we've lost a baby, another human being. Our loss was not simply some tragic event but rather it was the loss of a person, of a future, of dreams and of hope. There is no getting over it, there is no moving on. All we can do is to continue loving and remembering them as long as we live. There will be no end to our grief because they will always be missing and to stop grieving would be to stop loving. Some days will be better than others but the fact will always remain that they are not present with us. And that is why we participate in these events, why we constantly speak their names and why we celebrate their birthdays.

Monday night, we joined with the Florida Chapter of the Tears Foundation on New Smyrna Beach to display our prayer flags, speak our children’s names and find comfort and hope.  The event truly was beautiful and healing.  It was refreshing to connect with families in many stages of their loss.  Some have been grieving for years and years, others have just begun the journey.  No matter where any of us are on this journey, the bond, support and love you feel when gathered together in honor of our babies is always a truly special experience.  And the day truly left me feeling hopeful.  I am thankful for Carly Marie in Australia for being a voice for our community and starting events like the one on Monday night.  It is very comforting to know you are not alone and there are so many others who can relate and who understand our grief and love is never-ending. 


Here are some pictures from the event. 
 





Avery's flag and Dash's flag

 

2 comments:

  1. Your love for Avery is beautifully expressed through your words. Thank you Crystal.

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  2. Love the pictures, our sweet Avery is so blessed to have you as her mommy and daddy ♥

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