Wind Chimes I sat down in the large, unfamiliar church pew. Right up in the front row. Absentmindedly fidgeting with the hem of my brand new black dress. I could still taste the salt on my lips; my tears freely flowing as the service progressed. I’d never been to a funeral before. The casket laying open in front of me. Surrounded by grieving friends and family. The sweet sound of “Amazing Grace” playing over and over. I thought I would be ready. Everyone says funerals bring closure, bring the joy of remembering a beautiful life, bring the surviving family closer and makes them stronger. “It gets better,” they say. But not when the person you lose is still alive, not when you have to see how their life moved on without you, not when you don't get the closure of the funeral. It doesn't get better. My grandfather’s death brought a whirlwind of questions. Why had a simple staph infection turned into a state of delirium? What happened? Why don't the doctors know what’s wrong? And I wasn’t the only one with questions. Nana didn’t know what or who to blame. She didn't even know the name of the disease that killed him — so she blamed whatever she could, whoever she could. Most convenient for her: my mom and me. We were not present for Papa’s actual death. We said our goodbyes the week before when it became apparent that he wouldn’t be …show more content…
I uncovered the presents hidden beneath the wrapping paper, but I couldn't seem to uncover the underlying truth to the situation I couldn't begin to understand. I desperately wanted to see Nana. To spend the snowy days sliding down the hill on trash can lids. To hear her light chuckle whenever I asked questions about Santa Claus — I was the only one of all my cousins who still believed. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to see us. Why didn't she want me? And at that point, I didn’t know the funeral would be the last time I would see
Loss and How We Cope We all deal with death in our lives, and that is why Michael Lassell’s “How to Watch Your Brother Die” resonates with so many readers. It confronts the struggles of dealing with death. Lassell writes the piece like a field guide, an instruction set for dealing with death, but the piece is much more complex than its surface appearance. It touches on ideas of acceptance, regret, and misunderstanding, to name a few. While many of us can identify with this story, I feel like the story I brought into the text has had a much deeper and profound impact.
The funeral was supposed to be a family affair. She had not wanted to invite so many people, most of them strangers to her, to be there at the moment she said goodbye. Yet, she was not the only person who had a right to his last moments above the earth, it seemed. Everyone, from the family who knew nothing of the anguish he had suffered in his last years, to the colleagues who saw him every day but hadn’t actually seen him, to the long-lost friends and passing acquaintances who were surprised to find that he was married, let alone dead, wanted to have a last chance to gaze upon him in his open coffin and say goodbye.
The point of a funeral is to everyone to come to mourn your death and they speak about all the good times you had and all the good things you have done and just recognize the beauty you had on the inside. They say so many beautiful things at these funerals but the person who passed never gets to hear what they say. Yes, they will always be with us but wont to hear all the good things friends and family members have to say about one. Then this thing Morrie came up was a living
Throughout the course of history, there have been many civil wars. In those civil wars, many persons fought and died in battles to defend their beliefs. In the aftermath of a major battle, a people’s morale is as shattered and broken as the bodies of those that were slain. Following the battle, a funeral is conducted in remembrance of the deceased. At these funerals a funeral oration is usually given by a well-known domestic public figure, such as when Abraham Lincoln gave his “Gettysburg Address” in 1863 AD and when Pericles gave his funeral oration to Athens in 431 BC. These speeches were made not only to put to rest the souls of the dead and the grief of those who knew them, but to give those people hope that their friends and loved ones did not die in vain and to remind them why their civil war was being fought.
A moment in time that I hold close to myself is the funeral of my grandmother. It occurred a couple of weeks ago on the Friday of the blood drive. The funeral itself was well done and the homily offered by the priest enlightened us with hope and truth. But when the anti-climatic end of the funeral came my family members and relatives were somberly shedding tears. A sense of disapproval began creeping into my mind. I was completely shocked that I did not feel any sense of sadness or remorse. I wanted to feel the pain. I wanted to mourn, but there was no source of grief for me to mourn. My grandma had lived a great life and left her imprint on the world. After further contemplation, I realized why I felt the way I felt. My grandmother still
I have felt the pain of the loss of a Sister; have felt the pain of the death of my Mother, and felt the death of my Father. I know how it feels. I experienced it. It is painful, looking at those old kind folks who bore you; who took care of you; went through all kinds of sacrifices and pains just to look after you for years and years, until one day the child stood on one’s own two feet, and then … there they are, the parents, helpless and lifeless in front of you.
One summer I awoke to the chirping of my cell phone. I was really confused because I had a bunch of notifications. On a normal day I usually only have a couple. When I checked to see what they were, I discovered that they were all concerning my best friend. They all said “I’m so sorry for what happened.” I got really confused and stumbled down the stairs to talk to my mom. When I saw her, she had tears running down her face and she said “He’s gone.” My emotions hit me like a runaway train and I immediately went into a depression. The grieving process had just started and it was awful. Eventually, I knew it was necessary in order to heal. Grief marks our memories with sadness and pain; however, this way of coping is the essential key to moving on with our lives.
It is common for those experiencing grief to deny the death altogether. Many people do this by avoiding situations and places that remind them of the deceased (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). However, by simply avoiding the topic of death and pain, the mourner only achieves temporary relief while in turn creating more permanent lasting agony (Rich, 2005). In this stage, mourners will begin to feel the full weight of the circumstance. Whether the death of a loved one was sudden or long-term, survivors will feel a full range of emotions, such as sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, hopelessness, or grief. While many of these emotions can cause serious suffering, it is important for the survivor to feel whatever emotions come up and deal with those feelings, rather than trying to suppress any
Leming, M., & Dickinson, G. (2011). Understanding dying, death, & bereavement. (7th ed., pp. 471-4). Belmont, California: Wadsworth.
Funeral do not happen till 2 or more weeks after someone has died. It can even be over a month. This is because they need to get money together to pay for all the food that is needed, plus everyone must be notified. When someone dies the immediate family is told in person and not over the phone. They will call them and tell them to come quickly or tell them that the person is sick. When a woman who is married dies, it is often the job of her in-laws to tell her family that their daughter etc. has passed away.
Nancy was only four years old when her grandmother died. Her grandmother had a big lump on the lower right hand side of her back. The doctors removed it, but it was too late. The tumor had already spread throughout her body. Instead of having a lump on her back, she had a long stitched up incision there. She couldn’t move around; Nancy’s parents had to help her go to the bathroom and do all the simple things that she use to do all by herself. Nancy would ask her grandmother to get up to take her younger sister, Linh, and herself outside so they could play. She never got up. A couple of months later, an ambulance came by their house and took their grandmother away. That was the last time Nancy ever saw her alive. She was in the hospital for about a week and a half. Nancy’s parents never took them to see her. One day, Nancy saw her parents crying and she have never seen them cry before. They dropped Linh and her off at one of their friend’s house. Nancy got mad because she thought they were going shopping and didn’t take her with them.
• This quote is significant because of my experiences with people passing away. The careful wording and language you speak leaves a significant mark on one’s heart. Describing the process of death is extremely agonizing even when funerals are formal and well planned out events. The ceremony is filled with tears and pain, words cannot fully describe exactly what it feels like. All we can hope for is for them to have a good afterlife.
When my mother insisted that I attend a funeral for one of my grandmother’s friends three months ago, I felt frustrated and disappointed. Three months ago, my grandmother’s family member and best friend passed away due to cancer, yet I am unsure of the form of cancer that took her life. When a person that you know passes away and their family asks your family to attend the funeral for support, you say yes. You walk into the funeral with your best attire and socialize while giving condolences to the immediate family. When people walk up to you, you introduce yourself and let them know how sad you are for their loss.
Funeral Blues by W. H. Auden is a short poem that illustrates the emotions that he is dealing with after the love of his life passes away. The tone of this piece evokes feelings that will differ depending on the reader; therefore, the meaning of this poem is not in any way one-dimensional, resulting in inevitable ambiguity . In order to evoke emotion from his audience, Auden uses a series of different poetic devices to express the sadness and despair of losing a loved one. This poem isn’t necessarily about finding meaning or coming to some overwhelming realization, but rather about feeling emotions and understanding the pain that the speaker is experiencing. Through the use of poetic devices such as an elegy, hyperboles, imagery, metaphors, and alliterations as well as end-rhyme, Auden has created a powerful poem that accurately depicts the emotions a person will often feel when the love of their live has passed away.
Two years and four months ago I died. A terrible condition struck me, and I was unable to do anything about it. In a matter of less than a year, it crushed down all of my hopes and dreams. This condition was the death of my mother. Even today, when I talk about it, I burst into tears because I feel as though it was yesterday. I desperately tried to forget, and that meant living in denial about what had happened. I never wanted to speak about it whenever anyone would ask me how I felt. To lose my Mom meant losing my life. I felt I died with her. Many times I wished I had given up, but I knew it would break the promise we made years before she passed away. Therefore, I came back from the dead determined and more spirited than before.