Three to the Sea

One sea burial is hard enough to endure, but three sea burials all at once provides for a very challenging day.

My best friend contacted me a couple weeks ago to inform me that his mother had a few days left to live and he was on the next flight out to spend as much time with her as possible. She died within a couple of days of his arrival. I've known his mother for 22 years and never thought this day would come so quickly. However, even to this very moment, I am thankful he had a chance to be with her up to her last dying breath.

Within a matter of days that I learned about her death, my father called me to say we lost my grandfather. The feeling of loss was shocking and overwhelming. I had a ticket to go home to support my best friend, my family and to be supported.

My first order of business was to support my friend by helping clean out his mother's house. During his first days of beginning to organize and move stuff, he came upon the remains of his grandmother. Our need to bury the remains of his mother and my grandfather became a ceremony for three.

We took my parent's boat off the shore of Santa Barbara to celebrate the lives of three very unique and special people that had an immense affect on our lives. It was a beautiful Santa Barbara day for a ceremony of this magnitude.

We love you Rockie, May, and Maria. Be in peace and thank you for shaping our family.