Today we lit a candle for the first time, at 7 pm on Oct. 15th – for International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. This is the first year my family has known about this very special day. While it is not yet officially observed in Australia, it was formally observed in our home this evening.

It was a beautiful experience. I was surprised I didn’t shed a tear.

Our daughter (nearly 8) actively participated, in complete innocence. She is too young yet to understand what this is about, and our miscarriages were all early -- so I never ‘looked pregnant’ in her memory. Today she remains unaware of our unsuccessful efforts (four times over) to give her a little sibling.

At 6:45 pm, my daughter saw me preparing a white, tapered candle – without understanding its significance. She didn't ask me what it was for either, eventhough we don't usually have candles at the table. I was shaving off some wax at the bottom, because it was too wide for its holder. Known for her bubbling enthusiasm and joyful spirit (yes, she’s fabulous!), she asked me: “What are you doing, mum? Oooooooooh – how exciting!! Can I help?” So I taught her how to gently whittle the wax off.

She chatted with great excitement about her newfound skill of whittling, and then set the table for a little dessert. She asked if we could eat our ice cream without lights on (“to help the environment, mum”). Then she insisted on waiting till we were all seated, for the ‘ceremony’ of lighting the candle. My husband lit the candle; he and smiled quietly at each other.

It was so nice – I felt a definite spiritual ‘connection’ to our babies in heaven. It was like an invisible line to their perfect little souls. Nice!

I look forward to the day when Oct. 15th is officially recognized here in Australia. Our MPs are confident that it will likely be enacted next year. I invite you all to please add your name to the petition on our website, in order to bring this about. Thank you for your kind support.