Sophie overtaking Jessica last week has made for quite an emotional week this week which wasn’t unexpected. We did have a lovely moment this week of taking time to focus on our memories of Jessica when we were temporarily loaned her memorial butterfly from school. When her butterfly was first put in place, her friends and members of our family were invited to write memories of her on pieces of ribbon which were then tied to a big butterfly which has been on display in the school playground.
I wasn’t sure if the ribbons would need to be removed as part of making the school safer for the children going back this week (on the basis they are difficult to clean). I asked the headteacher if we could have the ribbons if they needed to be removed as I wanted to put them in Jessica’s memory box. There was some concern that it might be difficult to remove some of the ribbons due to weather damage and so the school decided to let us have Jessica’s butterfly temporarily so that we could remove the ribbons ourselves.
I’m glad they let us have the butterfly for a morning to do that. We took it out to the garden where we could hear the birds singing as we gently removed each ribbon, read the memory written on it and carefully folded it away inside Jessica’s memory box. It felt right that we were able to do that in the privacy of our own garden, and to be able to make it a special time dedicated to Jessica. Of course there were a lot of tears, but it was good to have that time. The butterfly is now back at school where it belongs.
We also had a lovely surprise this week when a beautiful bouquet of roses and peonies was delivered out of the blue. The card simply said, “I saw these and thought of you. They are beautiful and joyful just like your Jessica. So much love xxxx” They are now in our special vase dedicated to Jessica and make me smile whenever I look at them. It means a lot to know that Jessica is thought of by others too. I’ve since discovered who the sender was and that that particular flower arrangement is called ‘Jessica’ which made me smile too.
Things that have made me smile this week
- Going for a walk around Denham Country Park with Sophie and playing Pooh sticks.
- Watching Thomas play with cars in the tuff tray.
- Doing rainbow leaf printing with Sophie.
- Enjoying a bit of me-time and sitting in the garden with a book.
- Doing animal camouflage pictures with Sophie.
- Spotting stag beetles in the garden. I find them fascinating to watch. So does Thomas. He keeps looking at the area where they were and asking “where bug gone?”
- Making nature art frames with Sophie.
- Spending a windy afternoon at the park flying a kite with Sophie.
I’m welling up just reading about the ribbons and the butterfly. What a great idea to write messages on the ribbons and having them blowing in the wind. I’m glad you put them away now, before those messages totally disappear forever. You’ve made the most of your outdoor time. I love the nature inspired crafting, especially the rainbow leaf prints and the camouflage butterfly. I hope you have a lovely weekend and what beautiful flowers. #wotw
Thank you Cheryl. There were a few messages that were very faded but I could still read them just about. I’m so glad we were able to keep the ribbons.
I’m glad you are back, I couldn’t find you yesterday!! Your week has been full of beautiful memories, I’m glad you got to keep the ribbons from the butterfly, and the flowers are so beautiful, just like Jessica xx
Thank you – would have joined in yesterday as normal but my blog fell over and didn’t get sorted out until late in the evening. It has been a week of beautiful memories and that morning with the butterfly was such as special one.
I am so glad the school let you have the ribbons, and to be able to read them all in the privacy of your own garden is a really lovely thing. The flowers are beautiful.
Thank you Karen. It was so special to be able to have that moment out in our own garden, just us.
How lovely of the school to let you borrow the butterfly to retrieve the memories. It must have been such an emotional time reading the memories.
The flowers are beautiful and the vase is too. How lovely.
It was so emotional reading through the memories but very special to have that time to focus on Jessica too.
That was so kind of the school to let you have that time as a family with Jessica’s butterfly. With everything going on, it must have been so nice to slow down and enjoy a quiet morning together remembering her 🙂 #wotw
It was so special to have that time together and focus on remembering Jessica.