Walking downtown by the temporary location of the Columbia-Marion County Public Library, one will see a beautiful tree in the window. The beauty in the tree is its simplicity adorned in butterflies and the reasoning behind the tree.
The tree belongs to Compassionate Friends, and what makes the tree so special is that each butterfly represents a child who has died. It does not matter the age of the child, whether young or old. Ask any mother, even if the child passes at age 35, it is still her baby.
Membership to Compassionate Friends is “free;” the cost has already been paid by the unfortunate death. The group comes together to support each other throughout the years. Losing a child is something most people will not understand, so Compassionate Friends support each other. With the holidays being here, it is always a difficult time for parents who have lost children. It is a void that is not fillable and only becomes livable as time goes by.
The tree is one way the group remembers the children. Another way is a candlelight ceremony held each December behind the library on Broad Street. On the back side of the library is a gazebo and engraved pavers, each carved with the name of a child whose life was cut too short, if one would ask their parents. The ceremony is always emotional as parents take those few precious moments to memorialize their children.
The annual candlelight ceremony will be held on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m.
