Alexis Marie Chute, Speaker at Walk to Remember, Edmonton 2012
I have accepted the honor of being the keynote speaker at Walk to Remember this year, which will be held in Edmonton at the end of September. When I got the call from one of the organizers asking me to speak, my first reaction was one of overwhelming gratitude and humility.
Walk to Remember has played an important role in my life since I lost my son and even prior. My first time attending, back in 2010, I was only two weeks shy of losing Zachary. I was 28 weeks pregnant and round, carrying my ever present grief very physically within me. My husband and I knew what was coming for our son; it was only a matter of time.
A beautiful yet sad women approached me and said, “You must be so happy to be pregnant again,” as she lay a longing hand on my stomach.
“Actually,” I began, “this is the child I am losing.”
We attended the Walk to Remember that first year unsure of what to expect. Aaron and I were taken back at the large number of people who had lost a child whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, early infant loss or SIDS. I had not prepared myself for the crowd, yet the decoration was colorful and childlike, the message clear; love and remembrance ruled the day.
Our second Walk to Remember was last year, 2011, just before we celebrated the first birth and death anniversary of our son. We invited our immediate family and walked the sidewalk finding our Zachary’s name drawn along the path in blue chalk like the autumn sky, fallen leaves blowing across our path. I wept.
Walk to Remember is a celebration of young lives lost much too soon; an event for us who linger on in life left with the visceral ache of lost love. Lost but not absent. Walk to remember is a time for reflection and in my two experiences with the event, my thoughts always circle round to the fact that, despite my pain, I would not erase the touch of even so brief a life. My son Zachary has taught me what is truly important, he has helped me find my voice as an artist, and he has refashioned every internal part of me into the person I am today.
If you or someone you know has lost a child, at any stage, please consider attending. There is strength in community and healing in remembrance.
Walk to Remember
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Alberta Legislature grounds
Edmonton, Alberta
WEB: http://www.walktoremember.ca/
Alexis Marie – as always your words are beautiful. I know that they will be so meaningful for all that attend this important healing event.
Thank you so much, Patti. Walk to Remember is a treasure and every organizer, volunteer and donator are the heroes for bringing it to life and giving us who mourn a safe and happy place. With my whole heart I am beyond honored to be this year’s speaker.