Thinking about one's own mortality is not something that many people look forward to, but taking the time to make some funeral arrangements before you pass can help alleviate the stress your family members will feel after your death.
While selecting a casket and creating a funeral program are important things to consider, there are some lesser-known tasks that should be completed when making funeral arrangements as well. Here are three things you should do when planning your own funeral to reduce the stress your surviving family members will feel after your passing.
If you've been given the devastating news that your unborn child has medical issues that are incompatible with life, you may be shocked and wondering what comes next. All the normal celebrations of pregnancy -- baby showers, maternity photos, and weekly progress pictures -- can quickly seem trite and meaningless as you find yourself forced to refocus on planning a life without your child. Should you pre-plan your infant's funeral or wait to make arrangements until after he or she arrives?
Hosting a funeral can come with a number of stresses and responsibilities. Here are some steps that you can take to make your guests and yourself more comfortable.
Create an Informative Program
Creating a great program can benefit both you and your guests. From your perspective, it can cut down on the number of logistical inquiries you receive while you're concentrated on grieving your loved one. From your guests' perspective, it can help them to feel more comfortable in an uncertain situation, since they'll know what to expect.
Grief is not a one-size-fits-all process. What works for one person might not work at all for the next. That's important to remember if you have a friend who's dealing with the loss of a loved one. You want to be there for them, but you might not know how. That's okay. Helping a friend through grief is a learning process. The most important thing you can do for your friend is show up.
Have you decided to plan your own funeral? If so, you are certainly taking a large burden from those loved ones you will be leaving behind. It will be excellent for them not to have to deal with funeral arrangements while they are in the middle of the mourning process. Besides, when you plan your own funeral, you can make choices that others may not make for you. One of those choices might be the decision to be cremated.
