My Final Task

Well, not actually my FINAL task, but it is the final one regarding my Mom.

On Sunday my brother and I spread my Mom's ashes into the water at Bowman's Beach on Sanibel Island.

Rob and the kids were there as well as my brother's girlfriend Sara.

I was not looking forward to this day, but I knew her wishes and knew I needed to complete it for her. We went in the late afternoon when most of the beach-goers were leaving for the day. It was a beautiful afternoon it was not too hot or too windy.

When we arrived in the parking lot, a big tortoise came out of the woods to greet us. This is part of the reason my Mom loved this beach, because of the wildlife you see. The kids got a kick out of this. It was a nice way to lighten our heavy hearts with the task ahead.

We walked about a 1/4 mile to the beach and headed west until there were no people nearby to see what we were doing. Keep in mind that spreading ashes in the water is very illegal. We were told by the funeral people that the ashes would float and eventually sink, this was not a good thing. So we brought a bucket with us.

Jim gathered some water from the Gulf and we poured the bag of ashes into the bucket of water so they would get heavy and sink before spreading in the Gulf (my sisters bright idea!). This worked perfectly. After a few minutes, we all went into the Gulf and Jim poured the bucket into the water. I could not speak. It was very emotional for both Jim and myself to finally "let go" of our Mom. The kids were great and Rob stayed right by my side.

The ashes spread out like a fog in the water and then they were gone. It was such an emotional moment for me, although I did not expect to feel as happy as I did. I felt as though I had completed the task Mom left for me and it really felt good. Jim and I each saved a small amount of ashes for ourselves. I purchased a small silver box to put them in and although I thought there was no way I would save her ashes, I am so glad I did. Somehow I feel as though I have a small piece of her near me anytime I want.

After all was said and done, the kids, Sara and my brother went swimming for about an hour and they just had a blast. Rob stood on the beach watching for sharks and I took about 100 pictures to try to capture the day on film.

Overall it was a great day. It is exactly as my Mom wanted it to be. She is now a permanent part of one of her favorite places on the earth.

The picture is one I took of the beautiful day.

Smiles, Lynne