So, when I got around to designing the headstone I had, because I had that message, I designed it for both of us. And being strong people, we always had a connection to the whenua. So, I got my inspiration on the gift that she gave to me with the pounamu and that’s our connection back to the whenua… Yes, I’ve got the actual shape from that because I says, ‘Oh,’ I went down to stone masons says, ‘oh can you do me something like this?’ He goes, ‘I haven’t done one like that, but,’ he says, ‘yeah what would look really good if we actually went wider. So, we get that, that in. Because normally they’ve got so wide, but we can do one that wide and that will look really effective.’ So, I ordered it and I spoke to my daughter and said, ‘What colour shall we do mum?’ And she goes you know, ‘Black with gold writing.’ So, come December I phoned the stone masons, stone mason, I said, ‘Oh, you know it’s getting a bit close. What do we need to do?’
And he says, ‘I’ve got an issue.’ I say, ‘What the issue?’ He goes, ‘I opened the crate yesterday and I’m too scared to tell you,’ and he goes, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘You know how you ordered it in black?’ And he goes, ‘Yes.’ ‘It’s actually green.’ And he says, ‘Would you like me to order another one? I don’t know if it’s going to come here in time.’ He goes, ‘No. There’s forces above that you don’t know about, that I’ve known about, that’s, been influenced from outside forces,’ and I was thinking about Ripeka because I’d seen her father’s when I ordered mine, his stone was sit, sitting there. And, I was going, ‘Yes. She’s going same colour. Same everything.’… Yeah. And then I accepted that, and I was going, you know, ‘What type of green is it?’ But when I saw it on the day, it matched the pounamu I’m wearing.