..... we celebrated the life of my sweetheart Graham with tears and laughter with many of his friends and family. Graham was a great lover of nature, loved solitude and to sit alone in the park feeding the birds and squirrels, so I wanted the flowers for his funeral to reflect that love with a "woodland" theme and I was not disappointed - they were beautiful. Here are pictures of the flower heart and pillow from myself and Max (including one of Mia deciding to investigate - and pull out - some of the twiggy bits from the flower pillow)!
Both myself and Lindsay spoke during the service - I chose to finish with a reading of the poem:-
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room,
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave bereft
I am not there, I have not left.
(Mzry Elizabeth Frye)
The other quote we chose, by Hunter S Thompson, an American author, was read by Lindsay and would have been totally approved of by Graham:-
"Life should not be a journey to the grave
with the intention of arriving safely
in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke,
thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
'Wow! What a Ride!' "
The piece of music we chose for the middle of the service was "Don't Cry Alone" - Robin Gibb's Titanic Requiem - which you can hear if you click on this link.
It was a big day yesterday and today I'm spending it quietly at home, with my own thoughts and memories of the 35 years Graham and I shared together.
(I still have the dress I wore on our wedding day but I'm afraid it doesn't fit me anymore)!
