Monument

 When my mate Islay was here from New Zealand for Cicily's funeral she mentioned this tradition over there of an unveiling for a new headstone.  The Maori tradition is that a year or so after a person dies, after the most deepest grieving is through, they have a gathering to reveal the person's memorial.  The more Chris and I thought about this tradition, the more we loved it and decided to do it for Cicily.  Except we put our tradition spin on it of getting a grave marker as soon as possible.  Cicily's monument was installed this weekend and today we had the unveiling.  We weren't really sure what one does at an unveiling, but my friend Mandy suggested polka dot heart sugar cookies which sounded perfect!  Here's some of the unveiling attendees.

 The monument in a drape.

 Sophie wanted to be the one to actually do the reveal.  Except she kinda loves keeping people in suspense and gets a little weird being at the center of attention.  So in the end she needed help from Maya who jumped in and claimed she was "the Force".  Together they removed the drape for the big reveal!  I'm sure Cicily was cracking up at both of her sisters in classic form.

And here it is! 

When Chris dedicated Cicily's grave, he said it would be a place of happiness and even laughter.  And it really is!  I cry and get sad tons of other times because I miss Cicily, but at the cemetery I almost always end up thinking of happy memories and feeling proud to be this girl's Mom.  

This is the back.  John 9:3 is Cicily's special scripture.  It's Jesus talking about the man who was born blind.  We believe that Cicily's mission on the earth was to make manifest the works of God and spread the light of Christ in the world.  

We wanted our family's names on the headstone so everyone would know who Cicily belonged to, but Maya thought it was a bit weird to have her name on a headstone.  I also really wished I could somehow acknowledge everyone who Cicily belongs to and who loves her.  So late one night, I had some inspiration and came up with the bottom portion.  "Many more" includes all of you who love Cicily and are more kind and loving because you know her.  And I have been so touched at all the people who have independently said thanks for including me on Cicily's headstone.

The roses are from our rose bush in the front of our house.  It feels so nice to grow something beautiful that I can leave at Cicily's spot. 

And the front.  (I'll have to get a better pic tomorrow morning in better light.)  

We think the memorial turned out absolutely perfect!  We really wanted it to represent Cicily: classic, beautiful, poignant, playful, and even silly.  Notice the hidden mickey mouse?  We like to think it's a joke Cis would crack up at!  The granite is almost a purple, Cicily's favorite color of course.  And POLKA DOTS!!!

We would like to give a salute to Pavel at Western Monument https://www.westernmonument.com/ for creating this beatiful memorial.  (And yes, he does create monuments for people out of state.)  Pavel is an artist and this is one way he has chosen to use his talents.  We talked with him a little about Cicily and together we came up with this beauty to remember her.  We thank you for making a work of art for Cicily's lasting memorial Pavel!