Mastercarved Memorials

04/01/2024

03/31/2024

01/30/2024

Thank you Clay County, We are honored!

01/30/2024

A little etching today.

09/24/2023

Etchings and granite ball

09/07/2023

Memorializing the life of a loved one is a difficult process. Finding a professional can make this process a lot easier. Create a monument that will preserve...

09/02/2023

2 crypt mausoleum.

08/31/2023

https://youtu.be/mMWMD3i_BBs?si=pX_qkgii1ItpHWZM

There are times when cost is not the most important factor in a decision. When you only get one chance to get it right, a professional can make all the diff...

08/03/2021

No human being wants to stay in pain.

If they are in pain longer than society has approved. The grieving person feels pressure from many sources.

I call it ..

"The Grief Time Clock"

When The Grief Time clock says it is time to move on, sadly a grieving person begins to receive messages from people around them, and they begin to get it from the world we live in.

The myth is that this person isn't in grief anymore.

Now there just feeling sorry for themselves.

There in self-pity

"This is NOT self-pity at any level."

This is true brokenness.

Many grievers have been told they are in self-pity.

I am here to tell you don't listen to anyone that speaks to you in this way.

Unless they are someone you want to keep close.

We have to use our voice and say ..

" I am not in self-pity, I'm grieving."

I know this is easier said than done. I had no strength physically, emotionally, or spiritually to be dealing with stuff like this.

To say that at some point it was okay to be broken..

And out of nowhere

"Times Up"

The "Grief Time Clock" just went off...

"You've got to move on with your life."

"It's time to be grateful and happy no more of this sad stuff it doesn't help."

"You need to quite feeling sorry for yourself. They wouldn't want you to just mope around the house."

These comments and so many more are said to a grieving person everyday all over the world.

They don't help they hurt.

If you feel like you cant share or shouldn't seek healing; because you should be over it by now.

Please know this is NOT true. You deserve to share about your loved ones for as long as you like.

And on this grief journey your healing is sacred, and you need no ones permission to do this.

We wait for no ones permission or approval.

"We give ourselves permission we need it from nobody else."

Sending warm hugs to all of you. I am truly blessed to be with you. You have helped me, and continue to help me.

I am full of gratitude for all of you.

All my love, wrapped in hope.
Angie Cartwright

P.S.
If we truly think about self pity or feeling sad for ourselves..

Sounds like grief to me.

"We can grieve over ourselves."

What we use to be like..
Things we wanted to do..
Things we didn't do..
Losing who we are and trying to fight our way back into a different life and a different you.

So if they want to call it self-pity let them.

I call it grief.

I am going to grieve for myself and this is very healthy.

It is not selfish.

I honor myself when I allow myself to feel whatever is coming up at that very moment.

When I push it away it gets worse never better.

And somedays all we can do is breath.. and that is just okay.

05/26/2021

For the mother who cared for her parents,
This day has extra meaning for you, because you’ve mothered backwards. But you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You’ve driven them to doctors appointments and made countless phone calls to insurance companies.
Like you loaded your kids in and out of your car when they were young, you’ve done the same for your parents. Making sure they are comfortable, and gently buckling them in.
You’ve cut up meals into tiny bites and held a cup to their tired lips when they’ve been tired.
You’ve found just the right way to give them their medicine and tried your best to give them a schedule while still giving them independence.
You’ve taken them out for special occasions and taken them for drives just so they can see the Christmas lights one more time.
Just like she dealt with your 15 year old stubborn attitude, you’ve worked though her 80 year old stubbornness and ways.
And when he was afraid of dying, you reminded him of how wonderful heaven would be, just like he did when he tucked you in at night when you were a little girl.
You take such great care of the things that are important to her; the photos and her moms china, making sure her favorites clothes are hung up just right, just like she washed your favorite teddy bear when you spilled juice on it and ironed your new dress on Easter morning.
And when she called out in the middle of the night because she was afraid she was falling out of bed, you came beside her to remind her she was safe. Oh, how many nights she came to your bed and comforted you.
You were the first one to drive to wherever she was when you got that call. Something was wrong, your plans had to change, because your mom needed to be cared for. She needed her daughter.
And when the time came to say goodbye, you were right there. Holding her hand, reminding her of just how much she was loved and cherished. You knew she was ready to go, but you weren’t. You weren’t ready to say goodbye to your mom. You weren’t ready to stop mothering your mother.
And as they closed the casket one last time, you couldn’t bear to say goodbye to that face, those hands. That body who you loved, that body who cared for you, and who you cared for. The memories you have etched on your soul your entire life, and in these last years the soul you cared for with such mercy and tenderness.
Because no matter how much you mothered your own parent, that person was still your mother and father. And the years you spent loving them, the seasons of frustration and exhaustion.... you wouldn’t take a second of it back.
You have no regrets.
No regrets, only peace. Because what better way to say “I love you” than by mothering your parent.

05/17/2021

"When I die
Give what’s left of me away
To children
And old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry,
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you.
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give to me.
I want to leave you something,
Something better
Than words
Or sounds.
Look for me
In the people I’ve known
Or loved,
And if you cannot give me away,
At least let me live on in your eyes
And not on your mind.
You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands,
By letting
Bodies touch bodies,
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free.
Love doesn’t die,
People do.
So, when all that’s left of me
Is love,
Give me away.
I’ll see you at home
In the earth."

03/16/2021

A little cemetery humor to brighten your day!

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts. "One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me," said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me ...."

He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along.

"Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!"

The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk." When the boy insisted though, the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery.

Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."

The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord...?" Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done...."

They say the old man had the lead for a good half-mile before the kid on the bike passed him.

Remember to laugh several times a day, it good for you 😉

03/02/2021

First a howling blizzard woke us,
Then the rain came down to soak us,
And now before the eye can focus -
Crocus.
~Lilja Rogers

02/10/2021

Self Care in Pandemic Times

There’s a sliver of time in a person’s life when society actually encourages us to care for ourselves. That sliver of time we’re afforded for self-care happens when we experience a loss. After we lose someone or something, it’s like all of a sudden everyone around us becomes caring and encouraging with phrases like:

“You can get through this!”

“It’s okay to express your feelings.”

And . . .

“You need to take some time for yourself.”

And for a minute we believe them. We allow ourselves to let our space get a little dirty. Or maybe we stop shaving. Maybe we order out and watch more Netflix. During a loss, we let ourselves take care of ourselves.

But in the back of our minds we have an imaginary clock that’s counting down the days til self-care takes a back seat to “responsibility.”

Right now all of us are experiencing a loss. A loss of normality, of the rhythms were used to dancing to. Just like with the loss of a loved one, we’re suddenly having to learn an entirely new dance with no promise that the old dance will ever play again.

We’re friends, right? You’re here because you’ve read something I’ve written and you connected to it. So, as your friend, let me tell you:

“You can get through this.”

There’s no promise the end of this will be the same as the beginning. It won’t be. But we can get to the other side.

“It’s okay to express your feelings.”

A lot of us don’t like the COVID versions of ourselves and that’s okay. It’s okay to be less patient, less stable. Take all the time you need to accept yourself as you are right now.

“You need to take some time for yourself.”

You can stay safe and not be a martyr. Nobody is asking us to sacrifice ourselves. Do something you like (the pic is me doing something I like). Stay away from things you hate. Train your mind to think on things you enjoy, not things that make you angry and fearful. You have total permission to care for yourself.

Ive been telling myself that it’s okay to be a little more patient and gracious to myself right now. I give that same grace and patience to the families I serve at the funeral home. I don’t have to starve myself of what I give.