After this mourning mom sold her dead son’s crib at a yard sale, she was surprised when the buyer returned it a week later. Anticipating the arrival of a baby brings immense joy. Imagining the happiness that comes with welcoming a new bundle of joy fills soon-to-be parents with excitement.
A woman named Valerie Watts was looking forward to seeing her baby’s face, but her happiness and heart were crushed when she gave birth to a stillborn baby boy. She had a smooth pregnancy until suddenly things took a turn. “All week, I knew,” Watts reflected. “He wasn’t moving as much. I was very nervous.” Baby Noah’s umbilical cord got pinched in the womb, causing his life to end before it began. Watts was still feeling very sad. Even though her baby didn’t survive, she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of the crib she had purchased for him. Having it in her home served as a constant reminder of the heartbreaking event. Gerald Kumpula remembered that she seemed unsure. He thought she might not want to sell it, but she did in the end. Kumpula resided a short distance away and had a workshop on the edge of Cokato.
Upon seeing the crib at the Watts family’s garage sale, he wanted to purchase it even though it wasn’t for sale.“ When he asked me if I was selling that, that he made benches, I hesitated,” Watts admitted. At that time, Kumpulas was not familiar with the story of that crib. “His wife was there looking through my garage sale — at some of the baby clothes — and asked how old my son was since I don’t use the crib anymore, and I told her that he had passed in July,” Watts explained. Kumpulas recognized the crib as belonging to the Watts family, so he returned it after making some changes. “I started crying instantly,” Watts said. The bench made from the crib by Kumpulas serves as a reminder of difficult times, yet it also provides solace for the grieving parents.
