Yesterday ......

..... 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)!