The Garden of Hope

[pardes]

The expansive Christiana Hospital campus is between my home and a major shopping area I frequent. Today I discovered the "Garden of Hope" that has been newly added outside a new Cancer Treatment Center. There is a gazebo next to a pond with fountains and a Canada Goose conclave.

I stopped for my lunch picnic in the gazebo.

It's very peaceful and quiet. The fountains in the pond drown out all traffic noise and random thoughts cluttering your brian. I noticed a memorial in the distance.

I went to investigate and found a memorial plaque that made me catch my breath as tears stung my eyes.

I sat there for a long time taking it all in....the intense poignancy of it, the scores of women who lost their babies, the women yet to come who would add a name to a bronze leaf.

The surroundings of the memorial tree plaque had a distinct feminine feel to it. The keens and ululating of centuries of women who lost their babies hung in the air from the collective consciousness.

The leaves of the bronze tree appeared to be rustling in the breeze and dancing in the sunlight. I had to stand very close to see that they really were not moving, they were reflecting the sun.

Suprisingly it was not an oppressively sad place for only a few feet away was the Garden of Hope and the Walk of Hope pathway. It's what women do....pick up and go on, often with the camaraderie of other women.

But sometimes, we must go it alone and when no one is looking, and after the acceptable time limit that others will give us, sometimes we need to go alone to a private place and place a wreath for the anguish in our hearts.

And then we come back from that private journey with the instinctive urge to be with other women who know where we have been and may go again. There is such joy and beauty in that.

I want to honor the women of TE, all women who has loved and lost, and women everywhere. I worked a photo through Photoshop of fountain sculpture I found in a park. Women of all sighs and sizes who draw strength, humor, and knowledge from other women on the same journey.

Yes, I'm sure of it. Those bronze leaves that seemed to move weren't just reflecting the sun. No, the babies were definitely dancing.

[TxDoc]

Thank you so much for sharing!

[crazycanuck]

That's so cool!

Pardes, remind me..is Delaware the smallest state in the US? Also, what is Delaware famous for?

[pardes]

Delaware is not the smallest state, Rhode Island is.

I'm not sure what Delaware is famous for. DuPont money perhaps.

Historically, it was a Delawarean, Caesar Rodney, why cast the final passing vote for the Declaration of Independence. Rodney rode eighty miles through a thunderstorm on the night of July 1, 1776, dramatically arriving in Philadelphia "in his boots and spurs" on July 2, just as the voting was beginning.

A mountain bike would have been faster and then we'd be celebrating the 4th of July on the 3rd.

[OakLeaf]

Pardes, that brought tears to my eyes. Thanks for sharing.

And, Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution!

[Tuckervill]

The keens and ululating of centuries of women who lost their babies hung in the air from the collective consciousness.

Oh my.

Thank you.

Karen

[Trek420]

Similar idea in Northern CA. This childrens memorial grove happens to be near where our family established a picnic table in memory of my Dad. They were just starting to plant it at that time, looks like it's getting more complete.

http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/f..._mem_grove.htm

I think nobody expects to outlive a child and that makes it especially sad. Such an unimaginable loss.

[pardes]

Crankin, I'm so very sorry for your loss. These special babies live in our hearts forever.

[Crankin]

Thanks, Pardes. I try to think about what a great person she would have been. She looked just like my older son, so it's not hard to imagine a female version of him.
I am getting my "daughter fix" from my son's girlfriend. But, as a wise friend once told me, you shouldn't get too attached to those girlfriends, because sometimes they go away!

[Aggie_Ama]

I am getting my "daughter fix" from my son's girlfriend. But, as a wise friend once told me, you shouldn't get too attached to those girlfriends, because sometimes they go away!

Sadly, this is true. My older brother was married for 4.5 years and I was close to my SIL until she cheated on him and left him. It has been 5 years and I still couldn't call her. What I would say would probably not be nice, oddly my brother and her are still friends. I am friendly with my BIL's wife but I am cautious about getting too close. I hate that but it is true.

[mimitabby]

Crankin, thanks for sharing your daughter with us. I never had a daughter and always wonder what one would look like.
Pardes, thanks for the beautiful photo essay, I'm glad that you found the park and shared it with us.

And Delaware is famous for getting a New Jersey.