Every year, we get a cake for Mina.  We light candles and hold her urn.  We mourn another year without her in our arms.  For Mina’s first birthday, we wanted to do something memorable.  We decided to ask our friends and family to write Mina’s name and send us photos.  The response was overwhelming, and we got to see our daughter’s name written hundreds of times in creative and fun ways.  From a classroom of teens in Georgia drawing pictures to having her name traced in the snow in Moscow, Mina’s name came from all corners of the earth.  

Seeing her name written again and again in so many different ways was a wonderful experience.  You see, loss parents want people to remember their children.  We live in constant fear that when we’re gone, no one will remember our babies.  

We’re never not thinking about our children.  Saying their names and talking about them won’t upset us; in fact, we want to know that you’re thinking about them. 

If you want to honor your baby in this way, I have a few suggestions:

1. Start early.  We started posting on social media about two months in advance to give people time to plan their work and get it submitted. 
2. Don’t put too many restrictions on the project.  We just asked that people write her name one of two ways: Mina, or Mina Victoria.  The rest was up to them.
3. Encourage creativity.  Feel free to refer people to this blog post- some of our friends came up with great ideas.
4. Send reminders.  We posted about once a week, and kept asking for submissions up until the week of her birthday.

Don’t forget to thank your friends and family!  They love you, and they loved your baby.