Weekly, I shine a light on the story of a beautifully created and placed Wind Phone. Sharing our stories makes a difference because it's in the telling that we connect and heal. To not cloud the Wind Phone creator's message, the format for Featured Phones is to share their answers to the interview questions verbatim.
This week's Featured Phone is located in Cypress, Texas: Nikki and Anthony Revils created this beautiful phone in memory of their son Jacob Prado who passed away in 2020. Thank you, Nikki and Anthony, for sharing the story of your phone with us.
Where is your Wind Phone located?
Cypress, Texas
The phone is located across the street from Russ Poppe Family Park. The GPS coordinates are 29.97006° N, 95.59869° W
Why did you choose this location?
We thought of putting it together, and my husband and I chose a place that would be close so that we could visit it as often as we wanted. It's small trails where people walk and bring their pets. It's in a small clearing in the woods where there is a lovely tree and some open space.
What year and month did you place your Wind Phone at this location?
We placed this in December of 2021 but updated it this Thanksgiving (2022)
Is your Wind Phone dedicated or in memory of someone special?
It's dedicated to our son Jacob Prado. We lost our son to fentanyl poisoning/drug overdose suddenly in 2020. He was a recovering drug addict, but by no means was he his addiction. He loved his family and friends and was such a funny guy. He always had a joke or two to tell, and it was his mission in life to make people smile. His smile was absolutely contagious, and anyone who knew him, even for just a few minutes, was touched by him. We miss him every single day.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking of creating a Wind Phone?
It doesn't have to be elaborate as long as it's coming from the heart. We had no idea what we were doing when we started, but it eventually just came together. We didn't ever think anyone, but us would use it, but we are so happy that it has helped others.
Is there anything you’d like to share that I didn’t think of asking?
A lot of people ask why we decided to create a Telephone of the Wind. When you’re grieving an unexpected loss of a loved one, the need to say all the goodbyes you couldn’t is so overwhelming that some days you feel like you’re going to drown. When I ran across this beautiful idea by Corey Dembeck, who placed his telephone in Washington in honor of his daughter's friend, I thought what a great concept. What’s the first thing you want to do when you want to check on someone? You want to call them. It made sense. Picking up the phone and dialing is something physical you can do. Something that can make the act of saying goodbye more tangible. I don’t know if anyone will ever use it. I don’t know if it will bring relief to those who are mourning. But if you need it, it’s there, and the wind is waiting to carry your messages to all your lost loved ones.
Please help spread the word about this profoundly powerful grief tool by clicking like and sharing this post. And let's be friends ~ follow me @mywindphone (IG) and on Facebook at My Wind Phone.
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