Mortuaries/cemeteries Contribute to Remembrances

Mortuaries/cemeteries in many towns and cities across the United States have become more than just a place to bury a child.

At many of them in your home town bereaved parents can find grief resources of all kinds, whether it be books, magazines, or articles catalogued about the loss of a child. You can not keep them, but at least this is a source for you in your time of need. I know that at one cemetery/mortuary there are some grief resource people to help you and classes offered by specialists to show you how to move on with your life. Check out your own city to see what you can find.

And speaking of libraries and books/magazines, one city on the East coast has something unique. It is a wooden box with a door outside their library where people can leave books, and others can come by, see what is there that is of help to them and take them. These are mainly grief books. They are expected to return the item for someone else to read and in the process bring an item (it could be a magazine, an article, or a book they received when their child died), they think might be of help to others and leave it in the box with their returned item. This process has worked well for both those who can't afford to buy grief resources or who think they have stumbled on something others should be aware of. Perhaps it can work for other topics besides grief.

At some cemeteries, a special section is devoted to only children who have died. The section is kept looking pristine at all times and a joy to come to see what other parents have done to decorate their child's grave, showing the child's personality. Stuffed animals, toys, and memorabilia from the child's life make each grave unique. Other parents have gone to the extreme of placing large bronzed statues of their child playing baseball, for example, or any other activity the child was involved in.

In addition, one particular cemetery has a bronzed Angel of Hope, inspired by the book "The Christmas Box," and built with community contributions. Not only do thousands come to see the Angel and their child's grave, but an area around the Angel is reserved for those who want to buy a plaque with their child's name inscribed and other meaningful data on it.

I congratulate the thoughtfulness of these mortuaries/cemeteries who know how important and special all these children were to their parents and others. They seem to have made it a point to honor them. The children left their mark on many that will never be forgotten, and all of these things are a wonderful way to celebrate their lives and help bereaved parents.