The First Of Anything...

(This post duplicated at Building Heavenly Bridges)

She held my gaze with tears in her eyes, words tumbling out, eager to be free and I, just as eager to hear them.

"I'll never forget the day I was reading the paper online and saw a link to 'new infant loss group'. Of course, I had to click on it and read your article. Tears fell as I read it again and again. I printed it out and held it, wanting to give it to my daugther but knowing it wasn't yet time."

I smiled, already knowing the ending to this story, yet needing to hear it again if for no other reason to solidfy that the facts of the last year are actually true, that I haven't been living a dream that a good solid pinch will wake me up from.

"That was last February" she continued, tears more prominant than ever, "and here we are, in November - bowling. My daughter found you, found your group."

Yes, yes she did and we are so grateful for her strong presence, both in group and as part of our ever expanding board.

"My prayers were answered" she concluded and I found that we were holding hands, joined in our reverie even as the chatter of giggling families and clatter of bowling balls whirred around us.
***

The event was everything is was meant to be. As always, all the right people were there and received exactly what they needed. It was advertised as a 'celebration of family' and one pan of the room conveyed that our intentions had indeed been met. Yet, even as balls hit gutters, pizza was consumed and cheering ensued as someone threw a strike, our babies were remembered, were there amounst us, smiling angels on our shoulders.

I stop short when I think what has been achieved in just one year and look forward to the lighthearted celebratory conversation that will spin around the dinner table as the board members dine together on December 22nd, our one year anniversary.

Even so, there is so much more to be done. Lest we not lose our momentum, but let it gather speed propelling us futher down the track of expansion, reaching every family, every parent, every heart broken by loss.

And now, a few images from our day... The lanes...

The Pizza!

The angel ornaments, personalized and hung on our tree!

The memory bands...

A few of our Angel Babies above each lane...

Just a section of the raffle!

And, the main event: The Bowling!

And, as 'on her game' as ever, my very own comedian taking a 'little rest from the ball game'

Until next year a family friendly psa: Bowling is fun. It makes you laugh. It causes you not to take life, or yourself very seriously for a couple hours. Go Bowl!

Top Ten Reasons to Come to Bowling for Babies!

10) You can purchase raffle tickets online, even if you can't come in person! (And with the majority of items worth over $50 and over they are a steal at $5/6, $10/15, and $20/40!)

9) It's raining.

8) An after church / brunch / morning-in-front-of-cartoons activity is good for the moral.

7) The raffle items are AMAZING!

6) Goodman's woodfired pizza is the absolute best!

5) The ice-cream-which-must-not-be-named sounds scaringly similar to a cat and mouse duo.

4) Quality family time is hard to find.

3) $25 for a family activity and meal is unheard of!

2) It's a drop-in format and all money raised goes to a great cause!

And, the number 1 reason to attend Bowling for Babies is: __________________.

You fill in the blank, for even if you haven't had a loss (and, believe us we pray you haven't lived it) the memories you make during this celebration of family will stay with you long after the last ball has rolled!

See you tommorrow!

BOWLING FOR BABIES IN TWO DAYS!

It is incredibly hard to believe, especially if you read the Vermont Journal this week (which grossly misprinted the date of the event), but our Bowling for Babies family fundraiser is in two days!

On SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH we will gather together to remember, to bowl, to raise some money, and to have fun!

The RAFFLE is packed with GREAT stuff!! Click over and buy some tickets online, and be sure to put them in their virtual buckets!!

Share Southern Vermont On TV!

I don't have a problem with public speaking. This is well known. In fact, if you watched the video of the memory walk you not only saw me speak a great deal, but sing on camera as well!

That said, walking into a tv studio and intentionally taping a promo for an event is not something I've ever done...until today that is.

That's right! With my youngest gaping at me from the corner chair and being ever-so-quiet, I recorded this 4 minute segment on Share Southern Vermont, its history, its mission and its current focus: Bowling for Babies.

If for no other reason than to see how hard it is to show genuine expression while being filmed, click over and watch it!! (If ever I harbored a secret desire to become a soap opera star it was unceremoniously sqashed today!)

http://lpctv.org/programs/bowling-babies

And -- don't forget, if you would like to sponsor a lane in memory of an angel baby it is only $25!

Show and Tell: All The Right People

In December of 2008 I hatched an idea to start Share Southern Vermont. I had no idea what it would become or who would share the ride with me. Over the course of the last year I found myself saying again and again, "All the right people with all the right skills seem to be showing up!"

The picture above is from our recent candle lighting ceremony on October 15th. It is our board of directors, each a bereaved mother with a strong spirit and a mission to help others navigate their grief.

Because of their energies we have accomplished much this year, tranistioning notions into ideas, those ideas into action, and celebrating the realities that followed.

One of the realities I have pined for is a website all our own. Blogger gave SSV a comfortable home this year, but only so much can be accomplished on this site. Thanks to the considerable efforts of a grieving father, we now have a website we can call home -- complete with it's very own menu bar and pages for each of our outreaches.

It is, of course, in need of some tweaking but the overall effect brought tears to my eyes!

For show and tell, I offer our new site: http://www.sharesouthernvermont.site90.com/.

And, while you are there, click on the EVENTS tab. Hard to believe, but our first annual Bowling for Babies fundraiser is only 11 days away!

You can preview raffle items. You can even buy tickets online and put them in virtual containers!

Lastly -- because of the new site, this blog will transition into exactly that, a place to record ideas and emotions about our events.

So, look for big changes round these parts because we plan to do even more and reach even further in 2010!

What is the rest of the class Showing and Telling?

An Angel on My Doorstep

Thank you to all of you who braved the weather to come out and light candles in memory of our lost little ones.

For those of you who lit candles at home or on the road, know that we were thinking of you intensely as we shared memories, music, warm cider and homemade donuts.

A HUGE thank you to Paul Ippolito for providing the music, Eris Proctor for documenting the event with photos, Mendon Mountian Orchard & Motel for the warm cider, Linda Johnson for homemade donuts, and all the other volunteers who made this possible.

We are already looking forward to next year when we continue to fill the wish board, reach even more families with our offer of support, and hope that winter temps hold off just a little longer so our Friday night ceremony will not require wool hats and gloves.

As soon as I receive the photos, I will update the website.

Next support meeting date: Wednesday, November 11th, 7pm at the Whiting Library in Chester Vermont.

Followed, closely by our first big family fundraising event: Bowling for Babies on Sunday, November 15th at Springfield Bowl in the plaza.

Last night I mentioned that many great items for the Chinese Raffle were already arriving and that November 1st, their photos would be available here for preview. I've also said before that the raffle tickets will be available to our online readers with items requiring shipping costs being noted.

What I didn't mention were some of the 'big' sponsors I had approached. I thought it better not to get my hopes up. Some I heard back from and was pleasantly surprised. Others, I didn't. And yet more sent beautifully written, "great cause but we can't help you out" letters.

When I got home this afteroon there was a box waiting on my front stoop. I didn't dare to hope - and then I saw the image on the side

and I allowed myself to pray that the one I requested was actually inside that box.

It was. And I'm still not quite able to contain my excitment so I must share it with you a tad bit early.

Without any further ado, this amazing angel bear will be part of our raffle. I hope whoever wins it will find some comfort in it. Click on the image to see a bigger, clearer visual.

See, sometimes angels do hang out on my porch. I never had any doubts.

BOWLING FOR BABIES FUNDRAISER - SAVE THE DATE!!

JOIN US ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH FOR OUR FIRST ANNUAL BOWLING FOR BABIES FUNDRAISER!

WHERE? SPRINGFIELD BOWL, LOCATED IN THE PLAZA. CLICK FOR LOCATION.

WHEN? DROP IN ANY TIME BETWEEN 11 AM AND 1PM TO BOWL A GAME. THIS IS A FAMILY FRIENDLY FUNDRAISER. BRING THE KIDS -- THE MORE THE MERRIER!!

AND DON'T FORGET OUR CHINESE RAFFLE. WE ALREADY HAVE AMAZING ITEMS COMING IN AND ARE SURE TO HAVE PLENTY MORE BY THE DAY OF THE EVENT.

THE RAFFLE WILL TAKE PLACE AT 1PM, AFTER BOWLING. YOU NEED NOT BE PRESENT TO WIN! BEGINNING NOV 1ST, RAFFLE ITEMS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO PREVIEW HERE - AT OUR WEB SITE!

ALSO AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE WILL BE:

• ANGEL ORNAMENTS - $5 EACH


• "SHARE - FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS" AWARENESS WRISTBANDS - $3 EACH OR 4 FOR $10

MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW...BUT MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!

COME AFTER BRUNCH...

COME AFTER CHURCH...

BUT PLEASE DO COME AND HAVE SOME FUN!

BECAUSE YOU GIVE -- WE SHARE!