Nearly 5 years ago, my husband’s precious maternal grandmother passed away. This special woman had an amazing sense of humor and a flair for life. Without saying a word, she could make me laugh with just a look. Several years before her death, she visited a local funeral home in order to plan her funeral services. When she passed away, the family didn’t have to deal with the stress of organizing her farewell services. They could relax, grieve, and concentrate on the wonderful memories they shared with her. I've grown to appreciate this. On this blog, you will discover the steps required to plan your own funeral.
Planning Your Funeral
Tips On Dealing With Family Conflicts During A Funeral
Nora Mitchelle
After the death of a family member, you want the entire extended family to pull together and offer support to one another. In some families, however, this isn't a given. Rifts and conflicts that can develop over the years can make this time even more challenging — in addition to mourning the death of your loved one, you may also find that you're stressed about seeing family members with whom you've had conflicts. While it might not be possible to heal these wounds overnight, even though deaths can sometimes bring the family closer together, there are a number of things that you can do to make this situation more comfortable. Here are some suggestions.
Seek Counseling In Advance Of The Funeral
If the funeral service will be the first time that you see some extended family members, you might wish to have a counseling session in advance. You can book a session with a local therapist or a clergy member to explain the situation, discuss your feelings, and get help on how you'll approach the family member. This sort of professional help can make you feel much calmer about finally being face to face with someone you don't get along with, which can help to ease some of your stress at a time that you're already experiencing many different emotions.
Communicate Via Email
Before the funeral service, reach out to any family members with whom you've had conflicts and deal with the issue directly. Doing so may take a little courage, but it can make you both feel more at ease. You don't necessarily need to attempt to fix the issue. Instead, simply acknowledge that you hope to put your personal disagreements behind for the time being so that you can both honor the life of the person who has passed away, as well as support each other and other family members. You might also write that you hope this challenging time might be able to bring you closer in the future.
Set Up The Room Accordingly
In some cases, it may be extremely difficult to be face to face with extended family members. In this scenario, you can set up the funeral service room so that you don't have to sit together. For example, instead of the family all being grouped in the first few rows on one side of the aisle, have some family members on one side and others on the other side. This layout will allow you to select a seat away from the person with whom you have conflict so that your issues don't get in the way of honoring the life of the deceased family member.
For more information about handling funeral planning, contact a business such as Foran Funeral Home.
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