A Body of Ash
My dad passed away 3 months ago today on December 16.
He was cremated a week later on December 23, 2023, becoming a body of ash.
I carried my dad’s ashes from South Africa to Taiwan because I plan to have a small ceremony to inter his ashes at a nearby cemetery.
The Interment of Ashes Ceremony
We visited the cemetery this morning for the first time to see if it would be a suitable place to inter the ashes. I loved the peace and calm I felt there. I am sure my mom would have also loved Taiwan.
I carry both my parents with me wherever I go.
My challenge now is to figure out a way to have a private interment of ashes ceremony here in Taiwan that is also accessible to close friends and family who don’t live in Taiwan.
My immediate task is transcribing my dad’s handwritten pages. He had been writing about his memories for quite some time.
In our Stop Writing Alone March goals meeting on Friday night, Nicole Rivera pointed out how lucky I am to have these handwritten pages from my dad. These pages are a visual and literary representation of his physical voice as expressed by his cursive handwriting.
Nicole said something along the lines of this:
“You are transcribing your dad’s words by writing as though you were him. You’re getting to hear his voice again as you write his words. What a wonderful gift.”
I’ve done 24 pages this week. I can do about 4 pages a day before I need to take a break and do something else. I have 54 pages to go in the first notepad, which feels like a diary of dreams and memories. There are 78 more handwritten pages in other notepads that will soon be needing my attention. If I keep going at my current rate of 4 pages a day it will take me at least a month to transcribe all of them.
I want to choose some quotes to share because my dad had such a quirky understanding of how he saw the world, and how he managed to live in it.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress here on Substack.