This year, I actually looked forward to the candlelight vigil. It's a special night. Last year, everything was so fresh, it was so hard (and lighting my hair on fire with a freaking candle didn't help either- don't worry, it was just a little bit of hair), but it still felt good to be there and go.
The high yesterday was supposed to be 30 degrees so we knew it was going to be COLD. The weather did not disappoint (at least there was no snow or freezing rain, as we've been told has happened in past years.) It was about 19 degrees and we figured out the perfect amount of layers, none of us got too cold. I wore sweatpants, jeans, 2 pairs of socks, my sister's work boots, a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, a thick hooded jacket, my maternity coat, thick gloves, a hat (which Joe insists on calling a toboggan just to annoy me), a fleece hood thingy that covers your head and up to your nose of your face, and a scarf. I'll admit, my legs did get a slight bit cold, but more of like "it's a cool fall day" and not
shivering. In the car on the drive there, I felt like a gigantic
marshmellow
with all of my layers. We also opted to use battery candles this year, which was a good idea because there were no hair fires and we didn't have to worry about the flame burning out. Last year there were hundreds of people there and we got there late and had trouble finding a parking spot and ended up standing in the back. This year we were there probably a bit too early, about a half hour early, we were some of the first people there and had no trouble parking.The ceremony was nice but seemed shorter than last year. Last night it was too crazy and packed to get a picture so we went back today to get some pictures of it... (It goes like this: people talk and read a few poems, a few singers sing songs, and then everyone lays a white flower at the angel.) You can see the bricks under the base of the angel which are all engraved. Olivia has a brick too here, and since the cemetery is almost an hour away, we tend to go to the angel when we are missing her and don't have the time to spend 2 hours driving. (The angel is about 15 min. away from us and we are very lucky to have one in our area, especially in the middle of a beautiful park that is almost always peaceful and quiet.)
The Christmas Box Angel
With hope in its wings this monument was dedicated October 16, 1998 as a place of love and healing for all those who have lost children. We invite all to leave a white flower at its base.
Annual candlelight vigil December 6, 7 pm
And lastly, here is Olivia's brick, which my grandparents bought in Olivia's honor:
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