Organising a funeral - there is so much to do

I've been around death before.  As a child I attended many a funeral, but it wasn't until my father died, in my early thirties, that I fully understood what it takes to plan a funeral.

Dad's death came out of the blue.  He wasn't even sick - he was just washing his car - when he suffered a fatal asthma attack.  From there I felt a massive to-do list unravel onto of me.

First you need to tell everyone what has just happened.  I cheated and posted on Facebook, but my poor mother had to make phone call after phone call after phone call to all those relatives not familiar with Facebook.  The same story, on repeat, followed by more tears. More shock.

The next day we were meeting with a funeral director and that's when I realised how many decisions needed to be made.  And those decisions couldn't wait until we were done grieving.  The decisions had to be made now.

The questions begun...

• what clothes should we bury your father in?
• what type of coffin would you like?
• where would you like to hold the funeral?
• how many people are we expecting?
• what kind of refreshments would you like after the service?
• Have you got some photos for the service?
• What songs would you like played?
• What information would you like on the service sheets?
• What information would you like on the death notice?
• What are we doing with the remains? 

When you just want to be crying by yourself, instead you are talking to a complete stranger about the amount of sausage rolls required to feed god-only-knows how many people - the process just didn't seem right.

Why should Mum and I be organising Dad's funeral when he could have done it himself?!!  I mean we know we are all going to die sometime, so why leave these all important decisions to our nearest and dearest right at their lowest moment in time?

With the Wishes book, people can basically arrange their own funeral, leaving their loved ones the time to grieve and to properly process their loss.  Take the decision making away from your family during an already difficult time and pre-plan your funeral arrangements.  It's a simple task, just follow the prompts in the book and give it to your family as an act of love - giving them peace and comfort knowing they are planning your funeral just the way you wanted.

Don't leave your family with questions, leave them with Wishes.