Ewan's Marker

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but a little over a month ago, we completed the design and details for Ewan's grave marker. I was anxious to have this completed before I left -- I hated that even though we knew where he was buried, that there was nothing marking where he was. You can imagine what an unhappy task it is to be asked to approve and pay for a grave marker for your child, even long after the reality of his death has sunk in. We wanted it to be fitting and we wanted it to be perfect for him.

I believe we accomplished exactly that.

Ewan is buried in a section of the cemetery with several other children. You don't need to walk much a perimeter  around the spot where he his buried to see the graves of stillborn children, unnamed twins, and those who barely made it past two years old. It's a spot of the cemetery that nobody wishes existed. All around him are blocks of rose-colored granite etched with names, dates, lambs, and cherubs. Inscriptions of "our little angel" and images of baby footprints mark the places where the children beneath them lay.

For Ewan, we wanted something that would stand out, not just for the sake of being different, but because what we saw all around him simply was not fitting for our child. Angel wings and fluffy lambs weren't going to suit him. Thankfully, we have a family friend who is in the funeral business who was able to help us come up with the perfect design. I passed on a picture of Ewan's monkey, the Scripture that we found so perfectly summed up his life, and the name and dates as we wanted them displayed. We chose a dark granite for the sharp contrast it offered, and gold lettering for his name and the dates.

When I saw the final design, I knew we had arrived at the perfect marker for our son.

Click on the image to view larger

The Scripture is from Genesis, and these are the words of Eliezer (the inspiration for his middle name): "Do not delay me. The LORD has made my mission successful. Now let me go back to my master."

I'm so thankful I got to see it there before I go to Florida. I'm really going to miss being able to visit him.

P.S. If any of my Seattle-area friends would like to see where he is buried, I will be happy to take you there before I go.