A memorial garden...It's happening!

On the 30th of May, I posted a blog sharing a vision I had. A vision of a memorial garden to celebrate all angels of Swinford and the surrounding areas. When I first posted about it I felt maybe I was crazy, that this idea was just part of my grief. But when other parents contacted me, agreeing that they wanted to be a part of the project, well it made me feel empowered and to be honest it made me feel sane. So a little project I had envisioned, has now become a community project, a project that I hope will bring hope and comfort to those who have faced this loss and who will sadly face it in the future. I'm pleased to say two councillors have also backed our project, which makes me feel even more excited. Perhaps Sophia is making me smile (as always) and I feel she'd be proud of me for trying to break the stigma that surrounds baby loss and the loneliness that comes with it.

As I've said previously in my blogs, in an unlucky situation I feel lucky, as I have a space to sit with Sophia, there are many parents out there that never got that option or the comfort that I got. So Swinford will someday have a memorial garden for all angels. A place that will celebrate all little angels. A place for those who have lost during pregnancy (whether early or late), at birth, in infancy and childhood. A place where family members can go, sit, reflect, feel connected with their angels and have a sense of hope for the future. A place that will acknowledge how special those angels are and the love they have brought to their families.

I know that our losses come with different circumstances but that love and pain we feel as parents losing our child is the same. I want the garden to focus on the love we feel. The pride of knowing we created a little being that was just too good to be on earth.

So, on behalf of our soon to be Swinford Angel Garden group, I want to invite family and friends of those who have faced this devastating loss, whether miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal, infancy or childhood, to our first meeting on Thursday, 16 July 2020 in the Gateway Hotel Swinford at 7.30pm. Whether your loss was twenty plus years ago or in the last few months, all are welcome at any stage to join our project. There is no obligation to anyone to go, we just want to put the invitation out there. Just know you are never alone in this journey that can at times seems lonely. I've learned that in the space of three months of losing Sophia and it's my community that has taught me that.

Smile for our future angel garden. Smile for the angels who are guiding us with this project. Smile for my Sophia who continues to give her mummy strength and encouragement.

I'm not going to lie, my face hurts from the excitement and all my smiling.