On recent rainy Sunday morning, while most of the city slept, a small group of women gathered at a location in Southwest Portland to sew some love into some very empty lives.
The group, A Heart To Hold, was in town holding several workshops with one mission: To offer comfort to families who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss by creating and sharing the gift of a weighted handmade heart.
The women volunteers had all lost a child during their pregnancy and as they entered the room were given pre-sized cloth hearts along with small pieces of paper that included:
- The name of the baby they were sewing for
- The birthdate/death date
- The baby’s weight
Using a scale, the hearts were then filled with rice and buckwheat hulls mirroring the weight of the lost child. The hearts are finished up with a soft ribbon and a card attached for who the heart is for, who made it, and the name of the baby the volunteer lost.
For many, the experience was both emotionally and physically draining. I know. One of the volunteers was my daughter Veronica, who just wanted to give back after receiving her weighted heart last year.
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