Today was a lovely, but very breezy day at the cemetary.  Not too hot, with temperatures in the low 70's.  Fortunately, there was a marble bench opposite the niches, on which we sat Grandma and Aunt Mary.  Sure as an Oklahoma twister, a strong gust of this California mountain wind would have blown them both off their shaky feet. 

We had no official plan in mind for our service, so we just kind of "winged it!" Pun intended.  And, since I am the family eulogy writer and presenter, I was elected on the spot to handle this one too.  Ever the procrastinator, just as we waited for a few minutes for the other family members to arrive, I was able to find the perfect reading for us as mourners, from the book A Cherokee Feast of Days, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler.  Here it is.....

Dare to believe in miracles.  Look beyond the mud on the windshield, beyond the impossible, and know life is more than anguish and stress.  Reach out to someone, when your heart is too heavy to feel the sunlight or to taste the rain.  Rid yourself of dark thought and melancholy.  Open your mind to fresh air, to the unlimited music in your soul.  Thoreau wrote of waking in the night to hear a strain of music dying away-travelers singing.  He said his whole being was so expanded and infinitely and divinely related that he knew how narrow his own thinking had been.  The Cherokee always teach their young to listen.  We hear not the crash of cymbals or the noise that rides the airwaves-but the sweet song of the meadow, the even rhythmic sounds of nature.  It is here where the dikanowadidohi (angel) sings. 

Speak to yourself in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Grandma was prepared with a prayer she selected from a book entitled, Prayers for Good Times and Bad:

Lord,

Thank you for the life of the one we mourn today.  We know that it is only when we turn to you in our grief that we can experience any relief at all.  For in the midst of our pain, you give us a deep abiding peace...a peace that passes understanding....a peace that carries us from this moment into your future.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with your peace-the only thing that will sustain us thorough this time of loss and grief. 

In Jesus' name,

Amen

We then placed a bundle of sage* and the 

 

beaded feather inside the niche in honor of our Native ways.  Larry's rosary was lovingly placed inside by his mother, Aunt Mary. 

Tricia then placed a photo of her 7 year old daughter Samantha, who had written "I LOVE PAPA, Love, Samantha" on the back and the clear stone that encased her favorite little angel that Sam also wanted to be placed inside the niche. 

Also, we all wrote messages of love in the Cherokee book and placed it inside as well.   The urn was so tall that it had to lay against the back of the niche at an angle in order for the marble closure to be attached and sealed. 

(*Sage is used to purify the mind, body and spirit before praying. It is also used to purify sacred items such as pipes, and eagle feathers.  Some may use it to purify their homes, offices, cars and some carry a small amount of sage in a pocket or medicine pouch to insure personal and spiritual safety.  White sage is from the coastal mountains of California.  It is a broad leaf sage which is prized for its strong aromatic properties. This sage has the strongest scent of all sages.  Bundles are approximately 4 inches in length and tied tightly with yarn or string.)

Then we all had a great Mexican meal at Papa's favorite restaurant, sharing some laughs and good memories. 

Oh, and by the way, Papa "picked up the check!"  He would have wanted it that way.