Bereaved Parents, Child loss, flowers, Grief, inspiration, Photography, Photos, Writing

Pictures of Corrie’s Resting Place for St. Patrick’s

Corrie's Mom

Something i have to do

Every weekend the weather is decent, John and I have a lot to do on the farm from John’s renovation work and the yard to helping our son, Hayes, organize his room.

A lot of weekends I must go to the cemetery where Corrie rests to either add rose petals or redecorate for the next holiday or time of year. I also have to check on my thirty something graves of babies and children for which I care. The graves range from the late 1800s to the 2000s. The ones in the 2000s are largely undecorated if I have not kept up with them.

Corrie’s preschool teacher helped me decorated Corrie’s resting place for St. Patrick’s Day.

we are not alone

Sometimes we feel alone in our grief over someone we’ve lost. Grief is the expression of our love for a life that filled our being.

Corrie’s last preschool teacher joined me this Saturday to decorate Corrie’s grave. When I go to decorate Corrie’s grave, my vehicle is a mini-u-haul with a box of flowers and decorations from the previous season I can reuse. I have a box with different decorations, right now, for St. Patrick’s and roses for the petals we spread. I spread everything out near the top of the hill, and work from there.

Corrie’s last preschool teacher also joined me in decorating and carrying for the babies’ and children’s graves on my Kinder Memorial Walk.
In this section of the cemetery where Corrie’s buried, several babies born in the early 2000s rest.

Every single piece we add to her grave symbolizes a part of Corrie. I buy a quarter from Hobby Lobby, a quarter from Amazon, roses from our local grocery store, and most from the Dollar Tree. When I bought the St. Patrick’s fake flowers, glitter from the coins got all over the hands of the cashier. I thought “That’s Corrie … Glitter everywhere.”

There is something about a peacock solar light that says “Corrie.”

When Corrie’s last preschool teacher told me she remembered the general location of Corrie’s grave the first time she visited, she looked up and saw Corrie’s sleeping beauty space. She said you could not miss it. That is part of my calling: …

I’m forever and always Corrie’s mother.

I found the Lucky sign at Dollar Tree, and I thought of it because I was lucky to be Corrie’s mom.
The pony Corrie’s father bought for her has continued to stand through every storm with how I secured it.
I saw the Pup Patrol, and even though she was starting to grow out of it at the time of her death, she still liked it.
Corrie’s last preschool teacher arranged her flowers.
My mom bought the flag last month.

When Corrie’s preschool teacher joined me, it offered an opportunity for her to share stories I did not know about Corrie. It reminded me that I’m far from the only one still grieving for Corrie. We are not alone, even if we feel like it.

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Published by Corrie's Mom

They say teacher turn over is high right now, and many teachers will leave the profession in five years or less. I will enter my seventh year as a full-time teacher, and my 12th year in education after I'd started as a sub and teacher assistant. I was the student in the 1990s you did not want in your classroom because I was diagnosed with ADHD and did not know how to socialize with other kids. I was due to be tested for autism, but this was considered an ostracizing experience for a child then, especially a girl. I am a third generation teacher and author of seventeen creative works.

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