A Snowy Burial Day: February 26, 2009

Although snow is usually rare here in beautiful Seattle, we woke up to yet another snowy day this morning.  I love the way the world looks when it is covered in a white blanket and I always think there is something magical about this white stuff that falls from heaven (I grew up in southern California if that explains anything).  Anyways, I have lost count of how many snow days we have had since December, but we've had many more than any other year since Ryan and I moved here 16 years ago. 

Our house was quiet and still until Milo jumped out of bed screaming, "It's snowing!"  With a 2 hour school delay we had plenty of time to head out for a walk.  We stopped by our neighbor Heath's house and convinced her and the kids to join us on a snowy adventure.  It all felt very much like our snow days in December, except that we were missing Ezra.  We made snowy happy faces on some of the cars in his honor - he did this to dozens of cars during our winter snow days - and we made snow prints and snow angels all the way to Jacob's house where the kids played and made more snow people.  It was a peaceful morning.

At noon, Ryan, Luka, Milo and I headed to Lake View Cemetery.  We were the only ones there for the burial, just as we planned.  We each took a handle and carried Ezra's casket from the suburban - not a hearse - to the burial plot.  Ryan said a prayer to dedicate and protect the grave and I read some favorite scriptures about the resurrection of Jesus.  We talked about how Ezra's spirit is now in heaven and only his body is in that casket and that when the time comes for his resurrection his spirit will rejoin his body which will be safe and protected until that time comes.  When the casket was lowered into the grave, we placed some of the strings of origami cranes over it - made by his loving classmates and dropped rose petals and little love notes over the top as we said our goodbyes.

The cemetery looked lovely in the snow.  We felt good about the location.  We liked Lake View Cemetery because this is where we always took a walk with the kids on Memorial Day, so it feels familiar, even though we don't know anyone personally who is buried here.  Plus it is only 5 minutes away, so that is a bonus (especially since we made about 30+ trips there last week (it took us all awhile to find just the right grave site that we all felt good about). Lake View is adjacent to Volunteer Park and was founded in 1872, it is a non-profit cemetery. Also buried here are Chief Sealth (Seattle)'s daughter Princess Angeline, early pioneers of Seattle - the Mercers, Dennys, Yeslers, etc., J.J. McGilvra (namesake of Ezra's hundred year old Elementary School), and Bruce Lee and his son Brandon. 

Ezra's grave is not marked yet - still more decisions about designing the marker and choosing the materials, etc.  It is on the west side of the cemetary with a view of the Puget Sound in the distance as well as the Space Needle.  

Ezra's casket was made by his dad.  He worked on it in our dining room and on the back deck over the last week.  It is made entirely of pine and fastened with wooden pegs. Milo wrote Ezra's name in cursive on the top, Luka painted over this and then Ryan waxed over the top.