I Did A Lot of Crying Today

Today was our first public filming event, and I was honored to meet so many miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss parents.

We started the day at the Let's Not Be Still walk for awareness by the Star Legacy Foundation. It was a beautiful day and we couldn't have asked for better weather, but the truly remarkeable thing was all the families coming out for a common purpose- to remember their loved and lost babies.

I am a Director. It's my job to sit behind the camera and direct, and to not get too involved. That went out the window about ten minutes into the day.

One of the first events was a short run for children. As I trained my camera on the wave of children running towards me, I was overwhelmed with emotion thinking of all these little people running to remember their lost siblings. There was so much love and so much fun in that run.

Later in the day we hosted our very first public filming event, the first of many we hope! We had two filming stations set up in the Hyatt Hotel (shout out to Hyatt for donating the space, seriously generosity like that is the bread and butter of indie filmmaking!).

Our first interview of the day was a cheerful and steady woman, ready to do her interview. I sat down and watched the monitor, with very little idea of what was really in store. This beautiful woman broke down within minutes as she shared her baby's story, and I couldn't help but join her in crying for her son.

As I wiped away my tears, I thought, "This is going to be a long day!"

And it was. It was a long day filled with emotional interviews from families who want to share their stories and remember their babies. We were so honored to meet these parents who have been through so much more than any person should have to endure.

I didn't sit through a single interview today without shedding at least one tear for both the babies lost too soon and the families remembering them.

Since we were running two filming stations, I tried to split my time between them as best I could, but sadly wasn't able to hear every interview in its entirety. What I can say is that my crew and I were truly honored that so many people wanted to share their stories with this documentary.

I'm often asked what surprises me when making this film. In the past, I've said that I'm usually surprised by people's desire to turn their bad experience into something good by raising awareness and advocacy.

That's still true, but today I have another answer. I had no idea there was so much pride. I knew there was love, but I didn't know about the pride.

I can't tell you how many mothers and fathers told us today that they held their stillborn children and felt pride when they laid eyes on them. They were proud when others wanted to hold their babies. This to me just speaks to the boundless loved we have for our children, especially when they're taken too soon.

If we can continue on our fundraising goal, we plan to have many more filming events. We hope to meet many more people and film many more stories. The path before us is still very long and the hill is steep, but we couldn't have better stories to start this amazing documentary with.

Until next time, I the only thing I have left to say, is a heartfelt thank you. Thank you for trusting us with your stories. Thank you for joining our movement.

Thank you.

Ann