"And in the end.."

Today we cremated little Patrick. We had a beautiful little ceremony in a utilitarian crematorium with almost everyone who was at the service on Thursday present, plus Pui's sister, just arrived from Thailand. Three monks were there, and chanted a traditional ceremony. After the monks had finished chanting, everyone sprinkled the comforter and blanket Pat was in with Chrysanthemum petals. The blanket he was in was one he had been on several times in his short life, and had little animals and vehicles, and had text reading "On an adventure" and "Going home!"

The things you remember.

It was a nice way to say goodbye to our son. We are saddened to be parted from him, especially so soon, but partings are always sad. We will be sad for awhile, I'm sure. But we intend to remember his time with us joyfully - he has taught us so much about ourselves, our relationship with each other, and our relationships with our family and friends (so many friends!). He showed us what we value, and just how important love is. He brought a fullness to our hearts, and while our hearts ache with his departure they are no less full. If the Beatles were right ("And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make") then Pat will take love all out of proportion with the length of his stay.

Tomorrow we will have a memorial service to celebrate Pat's time among us, and acknowledge that we miss him. Pui and I fully expect it to be both difficult and fulfilling. We hope that the cremation today and the memorial service tomorrow will be enough of a closure for us, so we can begin to figure out what the future might hold in store for us next.

We say goodbye, and go on with our lives, but Pat will always be in our hearts. We will cherish the lessons we have learned from him as much as we will cherish the memory of every moment we had with him.

Farewell.