Johns' Journeys: Cemetery Marker

So, Chris died almost two years ago. That's almost 730 days. And, so far, we have only had a pedestal marking the place where his remains are. It's been almost 2 years, and no engraving has been done. Somehow, I feel that this is a problem!

You see, when Chris died, we had to go to the funeral home THAT DAY and discuss plans for a service and for his remains. They presented numerous ridiculously expensive options to us and needed to know our answer THAT DAY. And they wanted all the money THAT DAY. In my mind I remember thinking, 'Really, guys? REALLY?? I'm 5 weeks pregnant and I have a 3 year old at home. I do not have money for this!! How do you expect me to pay for it???'

In the end, we chose what seemed to be the most inexpensive option. There were numerous factors going into the decision, most of which don't matter and aren't of importance (Chris' size, a rental/purchased casket, etc, etc). But in the end, I knew that Jackson would need the opportunity to have a permanent place at which he could remember his Daddy. So, I opted for a pedestal that could be engraved and would hold cremated remains.

The engraving was included in the price that we had to pay THAT DAY. So, it has all been paid in full for almost 2 years. But, what do you know?? No engraving has been done. None.

I didn't really worry about it at first, I was pregnant, and wanted to know the sex and name of the baby before they engraved anyway. So, after I found out I was having a girl, I called Tom at the cemetery and told him I was ready to do the engraving. He made a big to-do of having me come in and fill out paperwork...which wasn't easy for me considering my emotions were still pretty raw (Chris had died just 3 months before). Tom promised the engraving would be finished withing a few weeks.

Well, time went by, and honestly, I forgot about it. Until Mother's Day of 2009. (9 months after Chris died). Katie was about 6 weeks old. I called good-ol' Tom to find out why it hadn't been done within the past 6 months. He says "oh good! I'm glad you called! Please come in and fill out this paperwork..." So, I did. Again. Same paperwork. Same engraving. It will be done in 4-6 weeks.

Fast forward to Mother's Day of 2010. Still no engraving. I call Tom, and he never returns my phone calls. Finally, I heard from him and he says, "I'm glad you called! I need you to approve the engraving style." Really?? Because I thought we did that oh...a YEAR AGO! But, I dutifully went in and approved what I had already approved before. (Just a side note: I HATE funeral homes. I hated them before, and I hate them with a passion now. I do not ever want to go in another one until I'm the one that is dead. So, to have to go to this one for a THIRD unnecessary time just really chapped me.)

Well, needless to say, two months pass and no engraving. So, I skipped the polite and pointless phone calls to Tom. I called my attorney, who was shocked at the timeline I gave him. He promptly called Tom who was "shocked" to learn that it hadn't been done. He assured my attorney that it would be finished. My attorney had asked when it needed to be done and I said, well, our anniversary is Aug 9, it would be great if it were done by then. So, Tom promised it would be finished by then.

I never dreamed that Tom would call ON OUR ANNIVERSARY to tell me that it was completed. Wow. Happy Anniversary, Honey! Your engraving is finally finished.