“I am that little robin
That sits upon a tree
I sing to you each morning
But you don’t know its me
I am that little robin
In your garden every day
I will never leave you
I will never fly away”
Little Robin by John F. Connor
As Remembrance Weekend passes
Here at Edspire HQ
We turn our thoughts to Christmas
And to advent
Each year we have a very special tradition
Our ‘Advent For Tilda’
In February 2013
Our Baby Tilda died
Suddenly in her sleep
Every year since then
We have filled the festive season
With activities and rituals
That help us to include
Our missing daughter
In our celebrations
Tilda had one Christmas with us
For which we will always feel blessed
We have an extended advent here
Because we know when the light
Of Christmas passes
We head into the dark times
That surround the anniversary
Of Tilda’s death
On the 2nd February 2023
It will be ten years
Since our beautiful
Baby Tilda died
We have lots of signs
And symbols
That link us to Tilda
We sent her ashes
In a tiny wooden boat
Down the river
And over the sea
To the sky
So being near water
Especially the sea
Always makes us feel
Close to Tilda
Stars remind us of Tilda
She is our baby in the sky
Our baby in the stars
We love her and miss her
In starlight
We also think of Tilda
Whenever we see a robin
Robins hold a very special
Place in my heart
They remind me of
Baby Tilda
Of my grandparents
My parents
And The Secret Garden
My Mum’s favourite book
We collect robin books
And our Christmas decorations
And clothing
Are very often robin themed
There are many myths
And much folklore
From around the world
That surround robins
The most famous saying
About the beautiful
Red breasted bird
Is
‘When robins appear, loved ones are near’
People believe that the robin is a messenger
When we see a robin
We take comfort that loved ones are at peace
And many of us believe that our lost loved ones are visiting
Watching us as we live and change and grow
Because of this we talk to robins
The gardener’s friend
And we feel special
When they come close
I love watching the robins
In our garden
As Remembrance gives way
To advent
The robin books come out
And we share brilliant
And beautiful stories
About these little
Brave hearted birds
When I spotted
Noelle Rock’s
With gorgeous artwork
By Sasha Sakhnevich
I knew that it had to be
Our first book of Christmas
Is a beautiful illustration
Of the old adage
Robins appear when loved ones are near
This is the story of one robin
One departed soul
Returning to their human home
To watch over their family
This gentle story
Is sensitively told
As the robin returns
To his loved ones
As their guardian angel
The robin watches his wife
And his children
Their joy and tears
Their courage
Their fears
He watches his family
Heal and grow stronger
He watches as his children
Grow and have children
Of their own
The robin is proud
As he watches
Their lives unfold
In time the robin
Is joined by his wife
As she too dies
Together the pair of robins
Perch in the trees
And watch together
The family they have left behind
The gift that they have given the world
The lives they created
The robins sing together
With love and pride
A song of happiness
And memory
I love this book
The pictures are stunning
And have a lovely festive feel
Though this is not a Christmas story
It is story of love and life
Death and grief
Living after loss
And our connections
With loved ones who have died
This is a lyrical tale
A reassuring story
To read together
To begin talking to little ones
About something that is
Never ever easy to talk about
A very special book
To remind us all
“Our special bond is never gone
In memory some small part truly lives on
Loved ones that die are never far apart
When you keep treasured memories
Deep in your heart
Life will continue day after day
But our love for each other
Will not fade away”