Part 3: "The Resting Place"

Choosing a final resting place is one of the other very difficult decisions you have to make after losing a loved one, especially if you haven't previously purchased family plots.  We had not.  New Braunfels is not a very large town, and it has very few cemeteries, most of which are already full, or whose plots have already been purchased.  We knew we wanted Rowan's grave to be nearby, so we could visit when we wanted to, so our choice was extremely limited.

We made the appointment at a beautiful cemetery, just under 30 minutes from our home, out in the beautiful Texas hill country.  When we arrived, we noticed that the different sections had names, such as "Hope", "Peace", "Devotion", etc.  Of course our first thought was, "Yes! He needs to be buried in the Hope section!"  But we soon found out that Hope was full, as were most of the others.  There were only plots left in "Love" and in "Devotion".  "Love" sat a little too close to the highway for our liking, but "Devotion" was perfect.  It had the most oak trees, the most shade, and it sat up further on the hill.  It was beautiful.  It was nearly full or sold itself though, so we only had a few choices of areas where there were more than one plot available in a row.

As one of the owners showed us the 3 or 4 spots where there were more than one burial plot in a row, I was overwhelmed.  How do you choose?  What is the right spot?  Where do you want to come sit, cry, pray for your child for the next...however many years you have left on Earth yourself?  It was so difficult.  He had only been gone a matter of days, how do you come to terms with where he will be put in the ground?  Neither Brian or I could make a decision. 

Then, in one of the areas, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.  I glanced over, felt a little tug, but shrugged it off.  We moved to another area.  Then we came back around to the same spot, and the same thing kept pulling me in...these rocks that were sitting atop one of the headstones. 

For some reason, it just seemed like something Rowan would have done if he were walking around the grounds there.  I walked away again, but was once again pulled back.  Brian noticed the rocks too.  He loves rocks.  Ian always loved rocks.  Rowan always loved rocks.  All 3 had special rocks, or rock collections.  Finally, I realized why this was reminding me so much of Rowan in particular though...I scrolled back through my photos (a few months worth) and found these pictures:

See, the final leg of our trip to Seattle, the last night that we stopped along on our way there, we stayed at Bigfoot Bed and Breakfast in Mt. Hood, Oregon.  The morning before we got back in the van to continue on to Seattle, Rowan and I walked the grounds of that beautiful property.  We came upon this altar, and Rowan picked up a river rock (similar to the ones laying on the gravestone I kept noticing).  He laid it on the altar, folded his hands and said a silent prayer. 

It suddenly became very apparent, that me scrolling back through my pictures to find this memory, one of our last happy memories outside of the hospital...and then seeing those same rocks on the nearest grave...it was a sign from Rowan. 

This was the spot. 

This is where Rowan would be laid to rest...forever. 

His soul is in Heaven, but the place where his Earthly body will lay, where we will go and sit and pray and talk to him...he helped us pick out himself...while we were having trouble doing so...by showing me those river rocks...again.

Thank you Rowan.

I hope you like the spot we picked.  I hope I read the signs correctly.