Headstone, Milestone, Same Thing

Lindsey's headstone is finally finished. It took a long time to design the perfect memorial that would reflect her life and then we had to wait for the winter months to pass before it could be placed at her grave. So here we are almost a year later and just finishing up the process.
I haven't seen the stone in person yet, but am surprised by the emotions it has brought to the surface. It's kind of an in-your-face reminder that she is really gone. It's been almost a year and that's another big milestone to hurdle.

We've survived so many firsts. The holidays and big events haven't been as hard as the little things. I remember the first time I removed her email address off my contact list so I wouldn't see her name every time I sent an email to my sisters. Another milestone was when my mom canceled her cell phone service. I called it it one last time to listen to her voice on voice mail before it was gone forever. We received her official death certificate in the mail on her birthday. Oh, the irony!

But you know what? We've made it. We can do hard things and those hard things make us stronger.

So go do something hard today, like finish all the laundry, exercise, call a friend you've been meaning to call but haven't, or write in your journal. It will make you feel sooooo good!

(then tell me about it)

PS-I fixed the photo links so now when you click on the image it will enlarge so you can read the writing. The poem is a quote from Rene Dumal, a famous mountain climber. Lindsey knew the poem by heart and quoted it often. That's her standing on top of a mountain....her favorite place to be.