To commemorate the death of her 92-year-old mother Patricia, who died of COVID-19 on April 12, Melissa Pierpoint created an illuminated heart that lit up her front lawn on Maple Drive.
“I had this big string of red lights and found a piece of fencing that I had and it all came together perfectly,” Pierpoint explained of the makeshift memorial.
The heart was also created as a way for Pierpoint to show her appreciation for front-line workers.
“The neighbours seemed to really love it and so did my family. It was such a comforting, cool thing to do to show love,” she said.
“I have an emotional attachment to it and so do the neighbours. It means a whole lot more than just a set of red lights and some fencing.”
Shortly after the Labour Day long weekend, Pierpoint discovered the unthinkable: the heart was gone. After checking around the property to see if it was nearby, Pierpoint realized it had been taken.
“Why would you take something that is sharing love and spreading positivity in the world?” Pierpoint lamented.
Pierpoint believes that if teenagers took it trying to pull a prank, they would have acted sooner.
“I’d like to think someone saw it and thought it was a great thing that they needed to have for their wedding or to share love somewhere else and that’s why they took it,” she said.
“But if you needed it, then you could have just asked me about it and I would have been so flattered ... it’s not like I don’t want to share love with other people through it.”
If the heart was not taken for good intentions, Pierpoint and her neighbours would like to see it returned.
“I just hope this spreads awareness of how precious things can be to other people,” she said.
“People don’t realize how much damage they do when they take something of someone else's. They have no idea what’s attached to it.”
Pierpoint is unsure if she will be replacing the heart or creating a new art piece for the lawn that fits upcoming holidays and traditions.
“If I don’t replace it, it’s not because of defiance but because I’ll just let it go now and move on to the next positive thing,” she said.
