A Bit of Good Timing and a Final Farewell

We spent last week at Cape Cod. Yes, that was the week that the entire Northeast was getting pummeled by the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole. Home in New Jersey, the rain was unending and torrential, from what I understand. But guess what? It didn't hit the Cape.

We were really lucky - our weather was warm and summerlike nearly every day. It rained lightly at night a couple of times but cleared off by morning. We did have one foggy gray day, but it didn't rain. Friday of the week we were there, it did rain - but not until the afternoon, after we'd already been to the beach and Diva had had her swim in the pond. So we really chose the right week to get out of town.

Below is Diva enjoying the beach.


The main purpose in going to the Cape for the second time this year was to bring some of my mother's ashes and scatter them at the Cape where she spent time almost every summer since she was a little girl. We had also paid to have a bench installed with a plaque in memory of my mother and father in the little park surrounding the Eastham Windmill, so we wanted to see that as well.

My half-sister and brother-in-law came up for several days to join us, as they had not been able to attend my mother's memorial service and wanted to be there for this second event.

We brought some of the ashes down to the bay and I scratched them into the sand and let the water wash over them. My sister said a few words that brought tears to my eyes, and we stood there for awhile looking out at the bay afterwards. It was a cool and windy day and there was no one on the beach but us.

Another day, we brought a few of the ashes over to the Windmill park and put them under the bench as a little dedication. I have no idea if this is legal or not but we only used a small symbolic amount. Here are my sister and me, sitting on the bench:


And here is the view of the windmill from the bench.


I still have a lot of my mother's ashes left. I may take some to Scotland next time we go - it was my mother's other favorite place. I didn't realize what a large amount of ashes there would be - the other half are buried next to my father in the cemetery, so I thought there wouldn't be that much. I could scatter Mom in a number of other significant locations if I want to. Israel is another place that comes to mind; she loved her trip there back in 1990. While some people wouldn't like the idea of being scattered hither and yon, my mother, who loved to travel, would probably think it's a great idea.

One thing I won't be doing is embedding them in a tattoo or snorting them with cocaine a la Keith Richards.

We had a good time at the Cape, but of course, it reminded me of my mom all over again. But at least I'll always know there is a little bit of her that will forever be there with me.