Funerals

Funerals, even though they are a way of life completing its cycle here on the Earth (even all good moments must come to an end sometime), it is something that must be dealt with eventually, whether you have a large family or not. The death we are going to see buried in the ground today isn't my family, nor is it my boyfriends direct family, but it is part of his family's extended family who has been as close as it has been part of their own family. The person that died this week is the Patriarch of the family, and the rest of the family in that town is related to him. It is a large, large family.

Today, it is also a foggy and rainy day. Not the weather that you would necessarily want on a funeral day, especially one that is graveside; however, I am hearing birds outside. Hopefully, it won't be as drury by the time that we get down to the site later today.

It comes at an awkward time where the direct tie between the two families is actually getting a divorce. Hopefully, the anticipated uncomfortableness will be overlooked as both large families come together to grieve for the loss of a great man, who raised his children, help them build their homes on their large property, was the adhesive thread of the family, and who loved the countryside and fishing way of life. I've only known him for about 6 years now and he so reminded me of the nature of my own father and Grandpa, and especially the love of fishing like my Grandpa.

Everyone grieves at different rates. Largely this can be due, sometimes, to the length of time that they knew the person that had died, the amount of time spent with them, etc., and it is perfectly okay to take that time to allow the grieving process to occur and come to closure of the full circle of life and is meant to be a celebration of a life of that person.

If you have recently (or probably not quite so recently) dealt with a death of a family member and/or close friend, what are some of the ways that you handled the grieving process? What are some of the ways that you were able to bring closure to losing that family member/friend? How are you able to prepare yourself for potential conflict that might be anticipated (whether it is a real or perceived conflict)?