Hospice Caring Inc./submitted Hospice Caring Inc. is preparing for its annual Wings of Caring butterfly release on Saturday, to honor loved ones who have died.

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Hospice Caring Inc. Hospice Caring Inc. is preparing for its annual Wings of Caring butterfly release on Sept. 10 to honor loved ones who have died. Hundreds of Monarch butterflies will be released as a symbol of love, hope and remembrance.

Hospice Caring Inc./submitted Hospice Caring Inc. is preparing for its annual Wings of Caring butterfly release on Saturday, to honor loved ones who have died.

 

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Hospice Caring Inc. will hold its third annual memorial butterfly release, "Wings of Caring," on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. on the grounds of the Hospice Caring Cottage in Gaithersburg.

The butterfly release ceremony is an annual memorial event intended to celebrate, remember and honor family members and loved ones.

The Hospice Caring annual butterfly release is an event I hold near and dear to my heart. Last year, my first year as executive director of Hospice Caring, I looked forward to participating in this event for the first time. I looked forward to it not only because of the opportunity Hospice Caring was providing to the community, but also because the memorial butterfly release held personal meaning to me.

My Dad had died the previous year. In 2009, when he fell ill, I resigned my position and became his caretaker. His death was hard for me. I miss him every day. Shortly after his death, a dear friend told me to wait and watch for the butterflies in September.

When a butterfly lands on your shoulder, what does it mean? It has different meaning for different people, but my friend told me a butterfly would come to me as a gift from my Dad. It would be a symbol to let me know that I was not forgotten. Sure enough, one day that September when I was in my garden, a butterfly flew into the yard and, much to my amazement and delight, landed right on my shoulder.

At the Hospice Caring memorial butterfly release, the Monarch butterflies will be a reminder to appreciate every moment we have with our loved ones, and to cherish the memories of people who touch our lives, who give us laughter and who share their love with us.

This year's event will include music, inspirational poems, a remembrance of Sept. 11, 2001, a dedication of memorial tribute bricks in The Cottage garden, a reading of the names of those being remembered and honored, and the release of hundreds of live Monarch butterflies as a symbol of love, hope and remembrance.

For more information about Hospice Caring's Wings of Caring memorial butterfly release, visit its website at www.hospicecaring.org.

Jeannette Mendonca is the executive director of Hospice Caring Inc. The nonprofit organization is based in Gaithersburg, had an outreach office in Olney for many years and offers services around Montgomery County.

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