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A quilt of many memories
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Fall 2016
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A quilt of many memories
A quilt of many memories
The baby blankets boxed up in Heather Postma’s basement weighed heavily on her mind for years. She had some good memories of her four kids, holding the little bundles of joy in her arms. But it was the sad memories of her two sons who died in infancy that she just couldn’t bear to face.
As Heather continued on her journey to recovery, she watched her two girls turn into beautiful young women and tried to put those sad memories to rest. But as long as those baby blankets were in the basement, so too were the memories of the two boys she never got to see grow up.
When Heather first moved to her current home 16 years ago, she lacked confidence and a voice of her own. She’s where she is today after years of hard work and encouragement from her peers, staff from Waypoint and other mental health services including the owners of the home where she lives, Tonya and Trevor Dowling.
According to Tonya, Heather is not the same person that came through her doors 16 years ago. It’s been years of hard work and Heather has taken full advantage of the services offered, including participating in Wellness Recovery Action Plan training and dialectical behaviour therapy through local community mental health services.
According to the home’s recreationist Darlene, who works with Heather, she is a positive influence on her peers “she helps them out and is very thoughtful.” Heather also gives credit to Barb, a previous recreationist with whom she is still friends.
It was a suggestion from Darlene that first planted the seed in Heather to make a quilt with her baby blankets. Knowing how difficult those memories were for Heather, it started with a gentle nudge as a way to finally face the past. And Darlene was the perfect person to help Heather through this talk, herself a grieving mother.
Together the two worked over the next several months to carefully preserve one blanket, which would serve as the anchor to the quilt, and design and cut the rest to create the perimeter. Now that it’s almost complete, Heather says “When the fabric was in the bags, it was sad, now it brings me happiness.”
Proud not just of the quilt but her journey in life, Heather says “At the beginning, it was a burden but now it gives me hope.”