Day 5. Memorial

At the Graveside.

Today's picture subject is intertwined with yesterday's subject.  Since Elijah's time was so short, he didn't leave much physical evidence of his existence so all my treasured items are also ways of keeping his memory alive.  It is the duty of all mothers to protect their children and  when that child passes away it becomes her duty to protect their memory.  While I shouldn't march down the street yelling out about him, there are certain things I should do in order to honor his memory. Here are some of the memorial things I have set up for Elijah.  They are examples of how I keep his memory alive....

His graveside:  The most important memorial we have is his stone at the cemetery.  We had him buried in the cemetery by our house, the same place where most of my family is.  His plaque is special to us, it was designed with great detail and love by Dave and I.  The cartoon lion looks a little goofy and that's because we both drew it together.  It is is a symbol of us working together on our journey of healing. It had to be perfect, the poor company that handled the design had to go through sample a-h before we approved it. Always the competitive mom I think it looks the best in the cemetery.

Close up of our lion

 Elijah Tree:  It was a seedling that fell from a tree at my granny's house and planted itself around the same time Elijah died.  This is how it earned its name as the "Elijah Tree".  When she moved, my parents dug it up and planted it in their front yard.  When I first saw it I had to laugh.  It was more of a twig then a tree.  It was barley alive and my dad near-drowned it in the first few weeks in its new home.  However there were leaves on it this summer and it is starting to thrive.  A quiet reminder.  I feel with this tree I can watch it grow older, taller and stronger, just as Elijah would have.  I love it there since its not sad and its not happy, it just is.  It's a symbol that even thought we do not talk about him often he still has a presence in my family's heart.  My husband always teases then when it gets more mature, the root system will reek havoc on my parent's place.  This makes me laugh because I imagine that as a teenager Elijah would have been doing the same. 

Tattoo:  I used the footprints that Children's hospital made for me and got it tattooed my forearm last year. I usually have a "not visible" policy when I get tattoos (gets rid of that "what do you do when you're 80?" question).  However I choose that spot because that was where his head was resting when he passed away.  My favorite thing about it is that it is very subtle and I feel like I can take Elijah wherever I go.  By looking at it you wouldn't think it was a memorial tattoo but rather a tribute of a child.  That is how I want to remember Elijah: Not as the child that left us way to soon but the child that is close to my heart.

Death is not the end.  In death you live in another plain of existence, and that is in the memories of the ones living.