[Magdalen] We remember them

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

She never obsessed about him, but she did mention her brother Mark from
time to time.  He would have been about my age. Mark lived about a day, if
memory serves.  It left a hole in my mother-in-law's heart, I have no
doubt. Christine inquired of a cemetery and found that there was a plot
where Mark rests, and she arranged to have a stone put on it, and a picture
of it was sent to her, which she sent on to her Mom.

I have forgotten just what year it was (probably about 1985), but it was
Good Friday that we miscarried. It was the only time we ever were pregnant.
That was essentially the last time we tried to conceive through IVF. It
just wasn't working, probably because an enzyme attacked the ovum.

Recently a choir director and friend asked me to join a pickup choir to
sing at a commemoration service for still born infants sponsored by a local
hospital. The read a list of names of the children who will never get a
chance to grow up. It got me thinking. We never knew the gender of our
child, of course, but some feeling in me just said, it was a girl.  I
decided she was Cecilia.  Christine thought that was a fine name, patron of
music and all.  Perhaps if she were here she too would be involved in music.

They included a sheet of paper to write the names of loved ones, so the two
first names I wrote on the memorial list this morning were Mark and
Cecilia.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 8:14 AM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> From many years past, fond remembrances.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQor_dX3IM
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>
> On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 8:00 AM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> They shall not grow old....
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OaBgaMcOvM
>>
>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
>> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>>
>
>