GOOD BYE SPOD

As most of you know by now from the pics on facebook and Monte's awesome video, we put Spod to rest yesterday.  His one and only request was to have his ashes spread (and I mean spread as you will see here shortly) at the beautiful Kaupo church.

The road to the church is very long, very narrow,  very windy in places, and very isolated.  You truly feel like you are on the very edge of the earth.  The dry desert like scenery on one side and the sparkling vivid blues of the sea on the other, under a very blue and fluffy white sky make the forty miles spectacular.  We stopped at the one and only winery on the Island for some taste testing. And we stopped at Gramma's Coffee place to pick up a picnic. 

 At this point we were all feeling sad and a little apprehensive.  We were playing Bill's cd's, blues and Deadwood soundtrack, and wondering how spreading of ashes is done.  None of us had ever done something like this before and we needed it to go well.  The calm facade was pretty fragile and being human…we were pretty scared that we may crack at some point and feel pain, too much pain.  All of it was still such an unknown and the uncertainty caused fear.

We stopped along the way and ate our sandwiches, peed in the bushes and took pics.  We finally arrived and once again was astounded by the immense power of the beauty of mother nature.  That place out there is astoundingly beautiful and peaceful…except for the wind.  The wind there is so strong it almost blows you over.  It is a very strong bullying presence.

We picked our spot out on the point and I handed each of the four of us our little baggie of ashes.  Monte offered up an 'I love you and miss you and goodbye Dad' and opening up our little bags we proceeded to 'scatter' the ashes.  The whole ceremony was beautiful, but, that wind!!!  It grabbed his ashes and swirled them up and back all over us!  In our hair, on our face, down our shirts and I felt a bunch land in my shoes.  I had Bill all over me!!  So, as painful and sad as the moment was, I think he had the last laugh….and my only advice to any of you planning something like this, dispense of the ashes LOW to the ground…!

We went to the van and played Iz's Over the Rainbow and Monte's Earth at Heart (Bill's fave song of Monte's).  It was a pretty quiet ride home but also a much more contented one.  Closure of sorts.  Tomorrow I will post about the evening last night…a great evening!  TTYL

AT THE WINERY

NUMMYNUM!

BROWN BAGGING IT

PICNIC TIME

OPENING UP THE GATE FOR US

THE AWFUL ROAD.  EVEN WHEN BILL WOULD BE DRIVING I WOULD GET OUT AND WALK THIS PART

DISTRIBUTING THE WEE BAGS OF ASHES

GETTING READY….THE WIND WAS CRAZY

RIGHT BACK AT US!!!!

ALL DONE

A TENDER MOMENT AND A COMFORTING HUG

JESS WROTE A LETTER TO BILL AND (YOU CAN'T SEE IT IN THIS PIC) SHE THREW IT UP AND AWAY FOR THE WIND TO CARRY IT OUT TO THE SEA.  SUCH A BEAUTIFUL GESTURE.