Lynda's Monument

Two months and three weeks after Lynda's death the headstone has arrived, the sandblasting for her name and dates was completed today and the drawings are finished for the etching to begin tomorrow afternoon.  I never realized how long it took to get a monument but now I'm understanding why people go ahead and have their monuments completed except for the date of death.

Actually, we are having custom artwork etched by an artist but I think even if it had been a regular go to the monument place, point to this one, tell them the name and dates....it still takes months to get it to the point of being installed.  Another thing no one thinks about or knows about until they're involved in getting one for a family member.

Lynda's stone is black granite because we wanted color etching and that's the only color they can do it on.  They will sandblast the words and dates and fill with white paint.  Then there will be an 8 X 8 color etching of a picture that has always been in my mind about Lynda.  Her angels over her as she played, her angels watching over her as she slept.  At home.  At NMRC.  I know she had angels with her at all times and this is just how I've always pictured them....close, talking to her, playing with her, keeping her happy in ways that only God's messengers can do for a child who isn't able to communicate with the other humans here where she lived.

The special part about the headstone is that I was able to design the drawing to be used and Gail Morton, a colleague of Russ and mine who teaches art at the high school at North Pontotoc will be doing the etching.  She is going to allow us to watch her tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 and I'm even going to get to help do some of the etching.  I am thrilled beyond words to be able to actually put some of the sketch on to the stone.  I will certainly be letting Gail with the experience at etching do the hard part.  LOL  It's an interesting process of starting with black instead of white and having to leave a black line between areas that are to be filled with color.

The etching will be somewhere between Gail's drawing at the top and mine at the bottom.  The colors will be like the one at the bottom but on a black stone it will have a different appearance.

The picture we're using is one of my favorite's when she was seven or eight years old.  That's always the age she will always be in my mind.  That was two or three years before the stroke.

This was a school picture and was captured while the staff sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  The photographer was told to snap it at the end when she would clap.  It worked and is just the most natural looking picture.  If you've never met Lynda...this is the white haired dart.  Just a beautiful little girl who was so happy in spite of all the health issues she had.  My mother made the purple jumpsuit.  Again, my favorite.  Can't you just see the mischief in those blue eyes?

How I love this little girl.  Can't wait to get to get to work on the artwork for her headstone tomorrow to get her stone in place.