On Monday, we interred Ailish’s ashes. You can read the short tribute I gave here. We waited as long as we did after the funeral because Siobhan, Ailish’s sister, had gone to Europe.

The day was much harder than I expected. I guess, more than the funeral, it felt like I was saying goodbye to Ailish. I wanted to find the perfect words to say, but there just aren’t the words I need to express how much I loved her or how much I miss her.

We chose a plot of land at Westlawn Memorial Gardens here in Edmonton. I really like the location we chose. It’s shaded by trees, and far enough away from the road so as to be peaceful. There’s a picture below, but the grass is much greener than the photograph indicates. We do not yet have a headstone; that will be ready next spring.

After the interment, we went out to Earls for some drinks and to tell some stories about Ailish.

This is what I read out at Ailish’s interment on June 6, 2011:

Sometime after Ailish and I had professed our love for each other, Ailish had a conversation with me. She thought maybe we were saying, “I love you” too often. Maybe if we said it too often, it wouldn’t be as meaningful.

I disagreed. I disagreed about as thoroughly as I ever disagreed with her about anything. I knew how amazing Ailish was even before our first date, and every single time I told her I loved her, I meant it. I meant it with every part of my soul. I thought we should say it more often. We should say it every morning, before we left for work. Every evening when we came home. When we were cooking supper. When we were sitting watching television. Before we went to sleep.

And we did. And all I wish is that I could have told Ailish how much I loved her another million times.

Here’s a link to flowers my mom sent. WordPress won’t attach images properly and I’m not going to fight it any more.