My ideal monument

• Black granite about 6ft tall &
  3 ft wide above water inlaid with stained glass window free-standing in the lake

My first thought was to do something unique, why not a monument in the water?

I chose an already reflective black granite to be the framework for a stained glass window. There will be enough of the granite to enclose the glass, as well as to reflect the light and shadows on it's own. The piece would be anchored with concrete, I suppose. No inscriptions, something that will catch the sun and rippling water for everyone interested. I chose cremation, so my ashes will be apart of the glass. I think being a part of the lake is a great idea. Water has such healing properties. Loved ones would know it was my monument, and others could believe it to be an art piece or a place they could go to sit by the water and reflect upon anything they wish.

The design of my monument is both simple and eccentric. Simple in having absolutely no inscriptions, only being a single piece of granite without carvings for embellishment, and taking up a small piece of (land). It’s elaborate display is in the stained glass speckled with ash set in the granite itself, and in a part of the cemetery where no one else is buried. Deciding upon no intricate carving of stone and no icons was intentional. I wanted something that could serve as a monument and a beautiful art piece. The choice is reflective of my thought that, although terribly cheesy, I would prefer to leave my mark in life rather than after. Granted, this would be a sizable, expensive, noticeable monument, but it would be more than personal. Perhaps it could serve as a window on the lake that one looks through to see the sun shine through, gaze at the waves lapping against it, the light reflecting off glass and water and granite. Bodies of water heal and sooth. We go to lakes, rivers, and oceans to gather our thoughts, assess them, throw them out into the water and to make peace. I envision sitting at the bank, skipping stones, casting flowers, floating candles, making wishes for the life here on earth and wishes for those that are in the next. My inspiration came from the beauty of the entire cemetery: the tended landscape, the lakes, the beauty of granite, the amazing stained glass filling the memorial mausoleum.