We celebrated Erin's Angel Day this year with a balloon release on Sunday, April 24, 2016 (the day before Erin's actually Angel Day of April 25, 2007).  Kevin, Catherine, Kate, and Caroline met us at 9:00am Mass at St.  Theresa's, then we drove the short distance to Erin's grave at the Austin Memorial Park Cemetery on Hancock Drive.  There we wrote messages to Erin and the little ones drew pictures for her.  I read Erin's poem:  Butterfly (posted below) and then we released the balloons one by one.  Caroline especially was entranced by the floating spheres.  Then when we could see them no more we went to La Mancha Restaurant for brunch.  All during breakfast, Caroline would say, "Boons!  Boons!"  with such wide eyes!  I know Erin would love all the little ones in our life.  I'm sure she laughs just as much as we do some days.  It is always a bittersweet day for us, April 25.  But it is so nice to know that others think of Erin and remember how much she touched us all.  Enjoy her poem:

Butterfly - 2006
 
Sometimes in Life
You get too stressed
You need to break away
And even though,
You try your best,
It doesn’t work out that way,
But up in the clouds
It’s hard to see,
How anything can go wrong,
The world is turning,
Constantly,
But you just float along,
Butterfly, tell me,
How does it feel?
To fly above the rest,
And when you look down,
You see that the ground,
Is more beautiful than you’d guessed,
And when you choose,
To fly away,
You dazzle those near and far,
Because when you fly
You spread your wings,
And they see how beautiful you are
If I could talk to the sun,
I don’t know what I’d say,
I might sing or I might dance,
But luckily, butterfly,
You already know,
Because you’ve been given the chance,
But you wander, butterfly,
From place to place,
Each day from dusk to dawn,
But when you leave,
You touch the sky,
And into the sun,
You’re gone.
 
Erin Crowley
2006