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Scott and I never had a moment's doubt that Ellie's final resting place needed to be home in Utah.
As soon as my Aunt Heather heard our plans to bring Ellie home she went to work pulling strings with Southwest Airlines, the company she has worked for for over 20 years, and managed to secure round trip tickets for our family of five as well as transportation of Ellie's body back to Utah. We are so grateful to Heather and Southwest for making it possible for us to bring Ellie home.
On our way to Utah we had a layover in Las Vegas. When our plane landed and we turned on our phones we had a message from Heather telling us that Ellie's body was actually on our plane. Scott and I had both been quite unsettled during the previous two days as Ellie's body was being sent between the hospital, coroner's office, mortuary, and airline and we never knew where it was or who was watching over her. Knowing her body was there with us gave us a wonderful sense of peace.
Scott and I sat by the airport window as they unloaded every last cargo box. We identified a box that seemed most likely to hold Ellie's body. It was sweet to see Scott tenderly watch over that box throughout our two hour layover and follow it wherever they took it until he saw that it was safely loaded onto our connecting flight.
Arriving in Utah and being surrounded by family and the majestic mountains was very soothing to my soul. We got right to work making plans and decisions that no parents should ever have to make.
The biggest decision was deciding on a burial plot for Ellie. We spent many hours over several days looking at and considering different plots. Once we found Ellie's plot, we knew it was absolutely perfect. It is a beautiful spot tucked into a peaceful grove of trees at the top of a hill that overlooks the valley. Not only is it a beautiful location, but more importantly, it is close to Pooky and Papa's plots where they will eventually be. The thought of Ellie being close to them in the future makes me extremely happy because she loved them very much.
This morning we went up to Ellie's grave. It was so tranquil and calm surrounded by the mountains with the rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves and a gentle canyon breeze. We couldn't have found a more perfect place for Ellie.
