So, once again, I have a funeral to go to.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I loathe funerals. Before the first one I ever attended, I got sick to my stomach. At the second, my dress broke.
After that debacle, I lost track of the number of funerals, and the number of disasters.
I guess, in some ways, I don't really understand the concept. I know, because I've been told, that a funeral helps the "grieving process," whatever that is. Personally, I would rather remember my loved ones and deceased friends as they were in life, as opposed to lying in a coffin. What is lying in that coffin is not my mother, my son-in-law, my friend. It is a shell. The spirit of the person is gone.
I have only seen one person actually die. I was with my mother-in-law. I will never forget the look on her face. She looked startled, as if she were seeing something she didn't expect. She was not a religious person, so we had never discussed an afterlife. After several seconds of looking startled, she was gone. She didn't want a funeral, so we didn't have one for her. She was cremated, and her ashes scattered in a predetermined and secret location.
I know that everyone deals with death in their own way. At this time in my life, I want to live as long as life is fun. I expect to be like my mother-in-law, and give life up when it becomes not worth living.
I know, I know. Be careful what you wish for!
Vero,
ReplyDeleteI read at Loretta's Blog and enjoy yours, too. Love your cats - they are beautiful.
My two daughters and I were with my Mother when we knew she had hours to live. She was in a semi-coma-like state - did not speak, eyes closed, just laid there, not moving. The hospital chaplain came in and asked if we wanted a priest to come.
She suddently tried to raise up and became agitated, acted startled as though she was experiencing something or could "see" something.
We often speak of that and wonder what happened. She passed away several hours later.
Addy used to tell a story about being with her Aunt Clara at the end of Aunt Clara's life. Clara had been unconscious for a while, and suddenly woke up. She asked Addy, "Am I dead yet?" When told, "No," she said, "Oh chickenshit!" and died! Aunt Clara was not a cusser, by all accounts. Unfortunately, I never had the privilege of meeting her.
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