Wishes Fulfilled

I wanted to share something with all of you that I think will provide another perspective after a loved one dies, and one that I plan to do as well.

It also makes me think about the reasons for life insurance and the expenses and stresses involved with funerals, and that really it's just a business providing services for the community. Funerals are not for the dead, but really only for the living. I do want to say I sincerely respect anyone who feels a funeral home is the way for them to remember/bury a lost loved one because I think we all need to do what brings comfort and peace with death, and/or death of a loved one.

My grandmother decided years ago she did not want a funeral, and only graveside services. Then she decided she didn't even want graveside services. Being younger, at first I didn't understand, and I thought she was being selfish. Later I just accepted her wishes without really understanding.

The day I found out she was gone, even though when I saw her in Sept I knew she wouldn't make it much longer-she was getting tired of old age, still left me at first just blank, and then slow increments of thoughts, and what to do next, some spoken out loud some not. Then I remembered there would be no funeral nor graveside services, which filled me with so much peace and calmness, and so many funny, happy, loving memories of her as she was in life, and completely erased the sadness that surrounds death as I have known it before.

I quickly began to understand her wishes, and how much she wanted to make sure we were completely surrounded in comfort, peace, and love when her time came to pass on. She had already been through all the sadnesses of death with her mother, her siblings, her husband, and other loved ones. I too, can remember the uncomfortableness of the steely, cold, dark funeral home, all the people you haven't seen in years, strangers of funeral home directors walking around in formal suits, the dead body laying in the casket with death, tears, and the sounds of crying heartache all over it, especially at the last viewing complete with the sad music during the services, all of which was so gutwrenching for me to hear, see, and feel, and I had not lost my mother, any of my siblings, my husband, or anyone so close to me, so what I felt was not even close to what my grandmother felt- I will never forget.

I also will never forget when I was 11 yrs old the same thing, at my dad's brother's funeral who died fairly young at the age 50....the anguished cries of his mother, his children, and his wife hanging on to the casket and the dead body inside because that would be the last time they would ever see him before the lid was closed. I was waiting my turn on the very last pew in the building, and I was already filled with such heartache at what I was hearing and seeing I couldn't handle it. I didn't want to go for the last viewing I just wanted to flee! So I can only imagine what my grandmother went through at the funeral home when she lost those so very close to her adding on to the top of such loss and pain the stresses involved when a funeral home is involved, and then to leave the ones so loved that have passed on with those being the last memories.

Because of my grandmother's wishes for no funeral of any type she has not left us like that at all, and it has been such an incredible blessing, and shows that she was not selfish with her wishes at all, but in life was more concerned about us at her death because she knew those experiences intimately she had already experienced, which she did not want for us. She left us surrounded in her lovingcare, and our last memories of her are of her in life, which is so joyous, comforting, peaceful, and filled with so much happiness, and no sadness even though we do and will miss her. Instead of mourning her death, we are celebrating her life and the memories we have with her. Her wishes were fulfilled.

Thanks Nanny and I love you, and I miss you.

In memory of My Nanny

July 27th, 1929-January 20th, 2010

I was blessed to have my grandmother for almost 40 years of my life. She passed away January 19. I wanted to remember her here on my blog.

I love and miss you Nanny, and you will always be remembered,

amanda