It was held yesterday (Mother's Day). There were 175 people present representing 76 babies. The losses ranged from 1945 through to 1999. I was actually surprised at the number of older people that attended in memory of their babies.
Everyone signed a guestbook and all the parents were given a heart ornament to put their baby's name and birthdate on. Then they were given a seedling tree to take home and plant in memory of their baby. Then they were given a pink, blue or white balloon. I welcomed everyone and gave a short talk on why I was there.
The poem "A Walk to Remember" was read by the director of Bereaved Parents in Truro. We then went for the walk which was about 25 minutes long (we had a police escort-front and rear and were able to walk down the middle of the street which brought even more awareness).
After the walk my husband read the poem "To the Child in My Heart" another lady read "It was Only A Miscarriage" and my daughter read "I'll Be There". Next the soloist sung "Angels Among Us" while everyone joined in for the chorus and my daughter signed the words to the chorus.
The tree that was donated was then dedicated and all the names of the babies were called out. When the baby's name was called the parents came forward and hung their ornament on the tree.
We then had a prayer "We Remember Them" and I read a poem for the balloon release. What a sight that was with 76 balloons in every color being sent up.
Afterward people stayed for refreshments (Tim Hortons and Coke donated these). I was able to meet most of the people that had shared their stories with me throughout the week during preregistration.
The provincial paper and local paper covered the event before hand and will do a followup story today. The ATV newsstation was also on hand and did a story on it last night on the news.
All in all everything couldn't have gone any better. The response was overwhelming and people were so appreciative to me for doing this.
I can't believe that I did all this by myself. I have finally found the thing to do that I have been searching for since Lindsay's death.
Christa and Gary's Story...
"Christa and Gary's Story" (9/97)
"Future Pregnancy Issues" for Christa's thoughts on her subsequent pregnancy....twins arrive safely on July 27,1998!!
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