Somehow I’ve managed to live a great number of years without experiencing the scattering of a loved one’s ashes. Maybe a function of my longevity, it has finally become a reality for my family as my Dad and his wife Carol passed earlier this year. Their wish was to be sprinkled together over the Gulf of Mexico as it laps the shores of Bolivar Peninsula. This is where they fell in love, playing in the waves as if children again, and naming the stars and constellations above late into the night from their beach house balcony. The children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren gathered here to fulfill their final wish. Amazingly, there stood a rental house where the old family beach house once was. My sister Paige, her Bugg and Katie rented it and prepared for the crowd with fresh fruit to share from the balcony as we took in the beauty of a very calm Gulf. The beach was pristine as the summer crowds had gone home for the winter.
When everyone had arrived, we began the procession to the beach front. It was then apparent the magnificent crowd that our family had become with three generations standing in unison to honor the wishes of our parents. I’m sure it was a proud moment for Dad and Carol as they smiled down on us from a blue bird sky. My sisters spoke beautifully of the loving relationship Dad and Carol had for over 40 years. Their words were so meaningful and moving that I could find nothing to add. As you can imagine, it’s not often I am at a loss for words. The youngest, the great grandchildren, were very happy to be on the beach with their cousins; and pretty much missed the solemnity of the occasion as they fought over who was to hold the new puppy. It was as it should be, an occasion to remember the joy Dad and Carol brought to our lives.
The older generation was more solemn as we remembered the parents we would always miss. So as the north wind blew, to help scatter the ashes, those of us who wished to get wet entered the water and easily spread the ashes with the wind to our backs. White rose petals were scattered to follow the ashes out with the tide. It was such an emotionally significant moment as the ashes became part of the ocean, back to nature. “From ashes to ashes and dust to dust”. As it should be.
islandwidow 