BY MAITLAND MACISAAC
GUEST OPINION
"There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to be silent, and a time to speak," (Ecclesiastes 3:1-10). For the past 25 years I have asked, “why the young?” and am no closer to an answer.
Over the past 14 years, close to 400 trees have been planted in the Ever-Living Forest at the International Children’s Memorial Place by parents who have lost a child. Each year in May, families gather in grief to heal, remember and bring their forever young child close.
The 400 trees in the Ever-Living Forest, including one for our son Shane, are a reminder of the frailty of life and the inability of the mind to reverse the natural cycle of life where the old die before the young
The profound loss that took place in Humboldt has changed forever the lives of the 16 families who have begun a journey they cannot yet understand. Only time can teach that the death of a child is a forever moment that is frozen in the mind and heart as an anchor that helps keeps the child alive.
Twenty-five years from now, memories of the tragedy will have faded for most, but for parents, the day, no, the exact moment they got the news, it will be etched in their heart as a forever now.
Each year, for the past 14 years the ICMP board stands with the parents, families and friends to honor these forever young children. We become one in unconditional love. It is at this event that all our daily trivia and what is considered important is set aside. Together we experience the purity of the soul as we gather the children close and touch the face of god
Ten years ago, parents from Bathurst, N.B. gathered to plant eight trees in the Ever-Living Forest. Seven were for members of the boys’ basketball team which became known as the Boys in Red, the eighth was for the wife of the coach. I witnessed the parents wails of pain, their inability to breathe, and the thunder of their silence as they planted their son’s small tree and placed a red plaque at its base.
The trees have grown a lot over the years. Each time I walked the forest and came to the place the trees are planted I said, “not again, please.” Then, Humboldt happened.
I relived 10 years ago as I watched on TV, the community at the Humboldt arena come together in profound sorrow.
The fact that the people of the community have invited Canada and beyond to join them in sorrow is a collective act of courage. At a time when the world is redefining the meaning of living together, a small group of people in a small community have become our teachers They are showing us all, that unbelievable tragedy, with all its suffering, can be an opportunity for us to feel the pricelessness of a child, the intensity of a parent’s love, and the caring of a community.
held our April ICMP board meeting this week. Part of our agenda was about reaching out to the parents in Humboldt. We will wait awhile. Their hurt and grief are too large. We know though, there will be a time when the crashing waves and the blizzards becomes manageable. We will reach out then and provide a place in our Forest to plant 16 trees with green and gold plaques at the base of each one.
- Maitland MacIsaac, president, International Children’s Memorial Place
