02/23/2026
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Her parents were shattered. In the middle of their grief, they knew one thing clearly was that they didn’t want brash lighting, cold tables, or strangers caring for their daughter. They wanted her back home.
After being told over and over that it “couldn’t be done,” they found me.
When I walked into their house, it was heavy with disbelief and love. We spoke softly about their options, and together we created something simple and sacred.
I went to the hospital to retrieve their precious angel. I placed her small body in a wicker basket lined with her own blanket and took her tiny body back to her family, her first and last trip home. They set her in the living room, surrounded by stuffed animals, flowers, and candlelight. Through the evening, friends came quietly to sit, cry, and say goodbye.
The next morning, her parents carried her bassinet casket to their car and drove to the green burial cemetery where I met them at the entrance. Her father and grandfather dug the grave themselves with shovels provided by the sexton. The children in attendance scattered rose petals over the earth, whispering farewell.
No fancy hearse, no invasive procedures, no fluorescent lights, none of that. Just the simplicity of family, love, and returning one small life to the land as gently as possible.
