no foot too small

It is difficult to fathom that the Earth has made an entire loop around the sun since we met and said goodbye to our precious daughter Ava Faith on June 4, 2011. But, the lilacs are blooming again. It must be true.

Beautiful lilacs, both friends and strangers brought to the church for our baby's funeral a year ago. These fragrant offerings were some of the many beautiful acts of kindness made toward our family, not only from those who were closest to us, but also from people we had never met before.

While we were still in Royal University Hospital after Ava's delivery, we were given a pink bear and card that said, "There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world." Our nurses said the bears were donated by another family who had lost a baby there several years before.

Although my heart was shattered and my body spent, I felt immense hope and inspiration through that loving gesture from this unknown family. I had not been the first. I would not be the last. I would make it through that day, that week, the first month, the first Christmas, the first Mother's Day and now what would have been her first birthday weekend.

Not only has my family made it through these milestones, but I also feel we have been transforming along the way into stronger, more compassionate people. We continue to be inspired by the quote from the hospital card and the kindnesses shown to us over the past year.

As Ava's first year in our lives comes to a close, it is our hope that her little footprints will continue to travel widely through those who remember her. The attached card offers a suggestion for how you might help us honour our sweet girl's memory during her upcoming one-year milestone while also inspiring others around you.