Headstone

Being just over half way through my month off from work, I realize that I am not going to come even close to completing my list--like about 10 months off. 

Many of the days have been a complete wash.  I am not happy about that, but also seem to be powerless to correct it,  I am told by many who have been there and some still there, that this is a normal part of grief.  Don't like it. What it to stop, so far the energy to get out of it hasn't appear.  Is there an energy fairy?

Today I did get one major item taken care of.  The headstone.  I called the place that the Shirey/Elliott family usually uses.  I was not at all impressed with the phone conversation, hung up frustrated and felt like I had been spoken to in a condescending manner.  There were a couple of questions I asked that he should have been able to pull up on the computer, if he turned it on and used it.  He said he would call back, he never did.  Till this morning while I was driving, in response the message I left him, "I found someone else and will be using them."  Said he didn't understand it, oh, and he did find an answer to one of the questions I asked.  Too late.

I called the funeral home that normally handles all the Shirey funerals, the entire phone call was excellent.  All my questions were answered while on the phone.  And they do headstones.  I drove out today and met with John.  He patiently showed me several options, didn't try to talk me into or out of anything. 

I could go on and on, but I won't bore  you.  I will say that there will be a lighthouse, with the light beam on it.  Dwight loved lighthouses. He had good sized collection and we had visited several, including climbing up two of them.  The trademark, so to speak, of Ridge Road Church (that Dwight pastored) was a lighthouse with the light beam.  Our name, Shirey will be in the beam.  Can't thank God enough that when I asked if they ever did lighthouses that John went digging through several books (not the books he had first brought to the table) and found me a half dozen to pick from.  They are also able to put our wedding date on there, which is important to me.

I took my little dog with me so that she wouldn't have to be shut up in the kitchen all day.  She was very good, slept allot, including in the office.  She didn't enjoy the  stop, go, stop, creep, stop, creep, stop.....traffic coming home.  She came out of her crate, sat on my lap and pleased the people in the next lane.  Babies and puppies are such attention getters.

Couple more