As an artist, it isn’t difficult to envision children and butterflies together. The whimsical nature of each makes them a perfect match. “Flitting” would be the perfect word to describe them as neither are still for very long.
The difference in the two being, children are still on their journey and butterflies have reached their destination. One of my favorite quotes, “Just when the caterpillar thought life was over…”, keeps my own destination in mind. Butterflies represent life’s greatest transition. Maybe this is why children are fascinated with them…they are able to see their own destination and how beautiful it is. Adults would do well to recognize this in their own lives.
Crescent Cove has been described as a “sacred space for passing into a final destination.” A place where music and art will help to make this a joyous experience. An experience of “making friends with death,” as I referred to it when my sister was dying. The more creative,the more joyful the experience. I even made my sister a crown out of balloons because she was the queen and enjoyed bossing us sisters around. Of course her hair was gone by that time (and for the third time) so the crown was perfect and she loved it. Art and music speak to our souls. They are food for our souls. Nothing else in life seems to speak to us quite like these do.
As a quilter, I’m also aware of the comfort of quilts made especially for someone. It would be wonderful to see butterflies and quilts in combination to make this destination experience as beautiful and warm as possible. My intention is to aid this process in any way I can.
How I would have loved having the availability of respite care, such as what Crescent Cove will offer, when we had our daughter, Marie. She was born autistic and developmentally delayed in 1960. Nothing was known about autism at that time and children like Marie were warehoused in state hospitals. We kept her as long as we could but her behavior eventually became a detriment to her two younger siblings. If respite care at Crescent Cove would have been available her life would have been so much different. We would have had much needed time to concentrate on our other children and support for better managing her care at home. It would have been a Godsend. I believe my interest in Crescent Cove is prompted by our daughter Marie.
Life is most precious when it is waning and Crescent Cove will nourish these precious days in every way.
Written by: Berni Doll