Sandy's Burial...

      When I sat down to write today, I thought I was writing a eulogy for Sandy.  No words came. I had said it all yesterday in a short paragraph.  Sandy had been with us for fifteen years. We loved her and she loved us back. She became sick and died in my arms...right where she should have been. Her death broke my heart.  Her burial broke my back.

     Tommy and I have decided that we are going to be cremated when we die. Funerals cost too much.  The survivor will need the insurance money to continue to live as we do now...without worries.  It sounds good.  Makes sense to most people and has even become popular in some circles. The only problem is I hate the idea of burning up anyone I love.  It seems barbaric and I for one can not do it.  Tommy has no problem with the idea.  Yesterday he asked me if I wanted him to call the vet and make arrangements for Sandy's cremation or did I want to bury her in the garden.  Of course I picked the garden.  I would make the same decision again today.  However, little did I know how hard physically digging a four foot grave for Sandy's remains would be.

    The only thing about me that feels 67 years old is my knees and today my back and ribs.  Usually I am fine. I don't feel or think any different than I did when I was 40. Tommy feels the same way. He has had a rough year and is finally healing.  Much better than I hoped for. He still has pain in his left arm but it is down to a 2 or 3 level.  He can function and live with that. We both think it will be gone by October.

    However, if you put the two of us together you have one whole person with bad knees and an iffy lower back, a left arm that hurts so bad it has been known to make an ex Marine cry.  And this person has to dig a four foot hole.  It took a long time to get that hole dug. We started with shovels, then we turned to a pick ax.  From the ax we drug in the tiller. That helped a lot. Until I looked up and saw how the tiller was jerking Tommy's arms. He refused to quit using it because at last we were making some progress. 

    The shady spot I picked out is nice. It is under a tall tree with roots that go all the way to China.  We dug, scooped, pulled until the hole was deep enough. My knees had left the premises about two hours earlier. To get out of the hole, I had to grab the tree and pull. 

    Finally Sandy was laid to rest. She was covered in her favorite blanket.  We thanked God for allowing us to raise Sandy. We thanked him for a lot of memories. Then we gathered up all the shovels, pick axes, and other tools that I don't even know what they were for.  But I do know one thing, they were not for digging dirt.

    We waddled to the house, took a shower and then a 3 hour nap.  When we woke up Tommy asked me if I wanted to go to Portland to eat.  I did. The fish and beer was delicious. We talked and talked then talked some more.  Once again the subject matter was cremation. It is in our will that we will be cremated. I am sure if I go first, he will cremate me...probably have a wiener roast:) I will not bet on cremation for Tommy. I have loved that body 46 years. However I know one thing for sure, I am not digging the grave!! Men!!! Can't do anything with them and don't want to live without them.  The way it stands we are being cremated...unless Tommy goes first...to be continued hopefully at much later date.