How Memorialization Can Help in the Downpour of Grief

By Neil Fogarty

We have all heard the old saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers.”  While this motto describes the coming of spring, it also can function as a metaphor for someone lost in the rainstorm of grieving a loss.  For much of the first year or more, the bereaved can feel as if they are on the Ark with Noah, raining pouring for days without relenting, adrift in the vast ocean of feelings that is grief after death.  Much as the Ark kept Noah; his family; and their precious cargo afloat, a permanent memorial can often be a life raft for those lost in the storm of grief.

Call it a memorial, headstone, tombstone, grave marker, or anything else but here is why permanent memorialization makes sense:

1. There is no other place on earth that will function as a permanent record of a life well lived than a cemetery – Death records can burn, be digitally wiped out, or even lost but a granite memorial will stand as a record of human existence.
   
2. The memorial expresses the feelings of loss – At Dodds we state this as Taking Memories Channeled Through Grief to Create a Lasting Vision of Love.  This expression helps continue the grieving process and provides healing.
   
3. The memorial tells a story to remember for generations – The difference between a Lasting Vision of Love and a tombstone is purpose; the tombstone only marks the name and dates as record, A Lasting Vision of Love recounts and conveys the essence of a life.  Do not settle for a tombstone, tell the story you remember through your grief.
   
4. A memorial is a meeting place – Families can use the memorial as a gathering place for important milestone events like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.  While gathering, family and friends can collectively grieve, while they celebrate the life represented in stone.
   
5. Memorials are a final, permanent act of love – Grief elicits the desire to “do something” because loss makes us feel helpless.  Memorialization is an active process that the bereaved can control, create, and complete.  Unlike death itself, this act of love provides a sense of empowerment and advances the process of continual healing the grief demands.

Let Dodds Memorials and our compassionate Memorial Counselors guide you through the process of creating a Lasting Vision of Love.  Dodds creates memorials, not settling for just marking a grave with a tombstone or headstone.  Our trust coverage and Rock of Ages seal marked products ensures your memorial will stand the test of time.  Grief brings the showers of loss, but the bloom of a new normal is possible, and a memorial can be a big step to getting there.