Dread Turned to Pleasure

I was really dreading this past weekend. The closer it got, the more I wanted to stay home and be in denial. Not because it would make my parent's deaths seem more real or final. But simply because they were cremated and sprinkling their ashes on their plot at the cemetery seemed so morbid. A vivid reminder that they were burned (their choice - not for financial reasons but because my mother hated the thought of her body being in the ground - so burning is better?!?!) and this is what remains of their bodies. A little more "in your face" than a closed casket at the committal.

But my awesome brother, Earl came through once again, and devised a plan to make it into a beautiful ceremony that I will never forget. He and my sister, Barb, sprinkled the ashes in the shape of a heart around the grave marker while Tom Sproles and I sang, "Look For Me" on CD. After the sprinkling of the ashes, we each took a handful of flowers - dried from the funeral sprays - and filled in the heart. After this heart-wrenching scene, my brother-in-law prayed a beautiful prayer and then the young grand and great-grandchildren released blue and purple balloons, signifying the "letting go" of Nana and Papa.

What I had dreaded turned into something I am so glad I did not miss. It couldn't have been more perfect.

We do not have a marker for our stillborn brother, Eric John, so Dad wanted to include his name on their stone.