Field Trip

This past Friday, my sister and I made a visit to the funeral home. We jokingly referred to this impending appointment as a "field trip". Of course we knew it would be nothing like the wonderfully anticipated field trips we took in grade school, but rather, we were finding some enjoyment in the sarcasm of the label.

My sister "J" and I were the only ones able to go on this field trip since my other sister and my brother were both sick with the flu this past week. J and I were given full permission to do what we thought was best and make any decisions necessary. As a side note, I have to say that it has been such a blessing that all of us siblings are right in step with one another. We all are pretty like-minded and approach things very similarly, so there haven't really been any disagreements, or head-butting to this point. At a time when things are so emotionally charged, it is really an act of grace that, if anything, we are all closer.

J and I met at the Little Chapel of the Chimes, with "Mike". It was odd going to a funeral home not for the sake of attending a funeral. While it was a welcomed change, I still had that heaviness and feeling of dread as I crossed over the threshold.

The Lord was again so present during our 2-1/2 hour meeting, bringing a real peace and calmness. We were able to talk candidly about pretty much everything, asking awkward questions about "how", "what if" and "what about." Mike put us right at ease and we felt comfortable to ask any and every question. From time to time during our meeting, my sister or I would announce, "well, here we are!" making an attempt to really connect with what we were doing. It was a very surreal situation. We made some arrangements, decided on a some specifics and had a good sense of how things will be handled when hospice calls them.

My stomach did flip flops as we entered the casket room to pick one out for our mother. It was at this point that I began to fight back the emotion of it all. "How can this really be?" Thankfully we didn't have to linger long as my sister and I both went directly to a lovely blue model that made us think of our mom. We knew our other sister and brother would approve as well.

Our parting gifts from this field trip were a folder filled with pamphlets, checklists, prices, and 'things to consider'; and a large canvas bag that contained a garment bag and a couple of other smaller bags for jewelry, special momentos, and so forth, that we will fill and bring to the funeral home when we are needing their services.

Walking out of the funeral home we felt exhausted and depleted, yet comforted and assured. We appreciated Mike's willingness to walk us through this process and answer every question, no matter how tacky it might have been. He truly is gifted at what he does, and his compassion for grieving families is evident. Very much like the support we are receiving from hospice, we now feel supported by the other entity that will be very much apart of this journey.

After our field trip, my sister and I consoled ourselves by going out to lunch, knowing we had faced a giant that had been looming large over the path. All in all, it was a "good" and necessary field trip, but not one that I'd like to do again any time soon.