 |
| "Forever Heather Quilt" |
The "Forever Heather Quilt Project" was completed on February 25, 2011, just three days after what would have been Heather's 24th birthday.
The following is a note from Heather's mother, Linda Kwiate:
babies, and from her Father. Not only could I no longer hug my child, but, I couldn't even look at her in peace...until now.
Through the creativity of my sisters, my mother, and other family members, the problem was resolved. Heather's images were placed into beautiful and peaceful scenes, surrounded by loving messages written by members of our family. Sewn in to every image, every word, and each design is the love of my family.My family and I will always have Heather and each other in this quilt.
Like other mothers, I've always wanted my baby to be safe.When Heather was a baby, I sometimes awoke with a terrible panic, feeling that something was wrong. The fear was quickly replaced with peace when I realized that Heather was safe. For the first time in a year I am blessed with that feeling again when I look at this work of love.With the "Forever Heather Quilt", I can find some peace and feel close to her.
My sisters and I worked on the quilt for a week, sharing fond memories, a few laughs, and a grief that I wish no one would ever have to bear alone. Losing a child is an inexplicable pain that can never really be understood, except by those of us who have suffered and are continuing to suffer through it.
When I look at the quilt, it feels like it is telling Heather's story for the future.These are all the things Heather never got to do because her life was cut short at such a young age.She is now in a place where I can imagine her doing all those things that she hoped and dreamed of doing. My Heather will never be forgotten."
~ Linda Kwiate
10:35 February 27, 2011
11 comments:
This letter from my Aunt Linda was posted at 10:35PM (11:35)Eastern.
I hope that my aunt is surrounded by our family right now and that she is wrapped up in that beautiful quilt, and maybe, feeling a little relief.
My sweet aunt Linda,
I'm so sorry for the pain and suffering you have experienced over the past year. We love you so much and pray for you, Pat, and the babies daily.
Thank you for letting me be a part of the quilt, it meant so much to me. It is so beautiful, and brought so much happiness to me to see my family working so hard together on this project, it turned out so much greater than I could have ever imagined.
You are an amazing woman and I want you to know how much strength I draw from you. I know at times you feel weak, but you are not. You have been through the worst experience of your life, no parent should suffer the loss you have, but you have always been a comfort to me personally. I am so impressed with how you have taken care of the babies, they are so fortunate to have you. They are developing so well, they are such happy, healthy, beautiful children. If Heather could see you now she would be so proud of you, as she always was. She always looked up to you and admired you. You were one of the constants in her life...she always knew she could count on you.
Our family truly is a circle of strength and love that just grows stronger each day.
Never lose your hope! I love you.
~Kim
Kim! Heather DID look up to Linda, figuratively. But, Linda is a SHORTY like me, so......I'm sure she bent down to kiss her Momma!
(Laugh, Nibble!)
Love you!
I love you Aunt Linda. As a young person this quilt makes me see life in such a beautiful perspective. Because this quilt is alive. It's a living growing being. Every person who touches it, lays underneath it, sees it folded placed some where will be forever affected by it because it holds the most beautiful parts of life. It shows all the love of our family and the web of support that we have. Most importantly it shows the life of beautiful, radiant Heather. I cannot wait to see in person.
This is such a great idea. I can't imagine the grief Aunt Linda must feel. I would never take the quilt off me. God Bless your family and I am so sorry such a beautiful light was extinguished...how unfair! Love and Light to Heather and her family! xoxoxoxo
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for the message to our family. It is especially meaningful to me to know that my friends, who have never known my family, care so much about this tragedy.
As a mother yourself, I am sure that you have the same worries we all do about our children.
Keep them safe, educate them, and let them know every day that you are there for them. I know you do already, you are a great Mom. But, talk to them about violence.
I've talked to my girls at length about the birds & bees since they were 11 years old, I've kept the communication going about all the topics I thought necessary, it never occurred to me to speak specifically about domestic violence until we lost Heather.
Now, I want to grab them all and crawl in bed with them forever, just so I will always know they are safe and sound. The reality is, they are not safe from violence. All we can do is educate them on the signs of an abuser, what to do to get away from an abuser, and know that it's alright to come home, there is no shame in asking for help.
My days will never be the same again, but with friends like you stepping up with kind words, it does comfort me.
Thanks, Kelly
Laura
We all will miss Heather greatly! I think the forever Heather quilt was such a beautiful idea and an awesome way to honor her LIFE! I knew Heather from middle school on and had a few classes w her, she was truly one of the sweetest girls i knew, she never had a negative thing to say about anyone. She was always so welcoming and caring towards everyone and had such a warm personality! The day she went to heaven, heaven gained a beautiful angel, but our world lost a beautiful soul. I will never forget her, and neither will the world. I think her spirit will live on not only thru her girls, but thru this mission. This foundation is such a wonderful thing to have done and Heathers story will help so many others before its too late. I myself was a victim of DV before and after heathers death, and being reminded of Heather's story and teh reailty of it all is part of the reason i chose to leave my situation. I thank you for starting this foundation, Heathers legacy shall help others! I am truly sorry for your families loss I wish i could bring her back for you and ease your pain. God Bless you all!
Katie,
I am so sorry to hear that you were a victim of domestic violence, but I applaud your courage to get yourself out of harm's way.
This is the exact sort of courage we hope to instill in others who are victims. You are a survivor.
Please share your story with others so that they may learn from your choice to get out. Sometimes, all a person needs is the strength that comes from the words of another person.
Heather's Voice intends to do just that. To use our voices in place of Heather's, to keep her memory and her story alive to help others gain the very courage you displayed by leaving.
For Heather and for those like her, we need to do all we can to spread the word.
I can't tell you how happy I am that you made the choice to leave.
Stay strong and take care of yourself.
Thanks for writing, hearing from those who knew Heather does help our family. Hearing from complete strangers helps a lot too.
We just hope to reach as many people as we can and stop the violence.
Laura (Heather's cousin)
Linda-
I love this quilt..it turned out so amazing!So beautiful.I love what you all did with her photos.I think about you constantly and I love you so much. I can't wait to see you again soon.Naomi talks about how much she loves you,all the time. We all love you so much.I pray for you to have moments of peace until you hold your little girl again. When I was little and spent time with you... your calm spirit always made me feel happy and peaceful. I know this is what kind of mother you are and grandmother you are.You have always been a source of love and you instilled this in her. You will naturally bring her babies peace until that day she wakes to be with all of you again.I have no doubt.Until then hold tightly to the memories and the hope to stretch forward to the future.Thinking of you always.
I miss heather but I know I will see her again (John 5:25)
She wasn’t just some story in the paper. She was a friend, a cousin, a grandchild, a daughter, a mother. She was someone’s hero, savior, and comfort when their own ends seemed to fray. She wasn’t just front page news. She was a dreamer. Like the John Lennon song. The smallest pieces of her had ambition. She knew what fear was but chose to ignore it and she was adored all her life. People always said she looked like she walked right out of a magazine but her beauty rooted so much deeper than that. Now that she’s gone the world seems to turn a little bit slower, the sun seems a little bit farther out in the sky, and flowers seem to wilt a little bit faster. I feel bad for these faces that never got to know hers. I feel bad for these people who never got to feel her smile. Because that’s what kind of person she was. A person who made you feel. The kind of person everyone wanted to be around. I’ve heard a quote it went something like this: “People always get what they deserve.” How false could that be. The world wasn’t ready for Heather to be taken away. You see that now? Everything is different. It’s almost as if the clouds cry too. The whole world is suffering from what it inevitably needed. No longer can it feel the bare foot steps of her walking in the summer. No longer can it hear the laughter of her daughters jumping into her arms. No longer can the sun caress her delicate golden hair. Night seems darker and colder now. The cold seems more bitter and silence seems more unbearable. But not all is bad. Like a name carved into a tree or a bike tire in wet cement. It will lay there forever just as Heather will be in all of us. Like a hand print in the sand that may wash away but the tide still remembers to come back for more. So often do we fear forgetting when we have known it all along, how impossible it is to forget something that is a part of all of us. We are the bark for which she carved. We are the wet cement for which she molded. We are the tide that will never forget. Many speak of her coming back but I for one have believed it all along. She never left. -Lindsay
Post a Comment