Yesterday my husband Christopher was out doing errands. He came home and told me that one of the places he stopped was Swan Point and that someone had shoveled a direct path off the main path directly to Natalie's stone. This morning, I went there to see for myself. Sure enough, it was a beeline as clear as day right to her stone. We are both incredibly moved that someone (we don't know who) would do this. It is quite clear that it happened very recently because of the fresh piles of snow on the sides of the path and the fact that it hasn't been re-snowed on or had much time to melt. It all just looks very fresh. To me, this suggests that it is someone who knows that Natalie's anniversary is this week (tomorrow, in fact) and that the person wanted to clear the way so that we could get close without having to trudge through the snow when we came to visit. I was planning to go tomorrow, as I always do, so the mystery shoveler's thinking is sound.
We have absolutely no idea who did this. Was it someone we know or a stranger? Whoever it was, it was certainly a snow angel.
It has happened a few times over the years that strangers who have come across Natalie's stone at Swan Point have contacted me via her website or my blog. They seem to have been moved by the dates, 2005-2007 -- such a young child. Some have wondered what happened to her and have reached out to me to express their condolences. Each time this has happened, I have been moved that Natalie continues to touch people's lives in such profound ways.
In any case, Christopher and I would like the mystery shoveler to know that we are very grateful for their thoughtfulness, for taking the time to honor Natalie in this way -- and to provide some comfort to us. We are deeply moved.
2 comments:
Hi Beth,
I come here every few months or so, hoping to see an update and boy was I pleasantly surprised tonight! Thank you for coming back and posting. :)
How beautiful was it to have a stranger make a path way to Natalie's place of rest. She has touched so many hearts - I know she has touched mine and I did not even have the pleasure of knowing her face to face.
Congratulations on Gabriel's acceptance at the charter school. I hope he loves it and it's a perfect fit for him. :) xxx
Hi Lina, So nice to hear from you again! I appreciate you sticking with me through my long absence, too. I hope to post more often this year as grief has a way of ebbing and flowing. Sometimes I want to just crawl under a rock and other times I feel more like facing the world. I'm feeling better at the moment.
All the best to you,
Beth
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