I Want A Fun Funeral Blog
A standing ovation! The grand finale of a fireworks display! An outpouring of recognition and gratitude like nobody's business. It's just not the time to skimp or be reserved. Be bold and beautiful in your Goodbye to your so-loved person.
Fun, Inspiring Examples for You
Could you use a little inspiration for a knock-out goodbye party? Whether thinking of your own or for someone else — remember: Don't have a boring, forgettable funeral. But some life into it. This sacred ritual should reflect the life and spirit of the dearly...
I Want a Fun Funeral Manifesto
There's no time like the present. It's been a year like no other, so might as well finish it off with something you've never done before. Nothing is weird right now. Get that personal goodbye celebration written down. Ideas bandied about, decisions made, huge peace of...
Illustration of How to Take it Up a Notch
There's a funeral on the horizon. Well, there's always a funeral on the horizon, but let's say it's imminent or expected. You like the idea of Taking It Up a Notch, but just don't see any big, obvious way to do it. There's no all-consuming passion or notable personal...
Before I Die Festival
Just in time for Halloween… the 4th Annual Before I Die New Mexico (Virtual) Festival. Yes, it's 1910 miles away, but one of the upsides of the pandemic is that with Zoom geography is no obstacle. Which is why I was invited by my friend and End-of-Life colleague Gail...
It really isn't hard thinking about what you want. What makes you smile? What makes you happy? What's important to you? If you remember anything, let it be this. For your very own goodbye party, you don't have to do:• what's always been done• what is expected• what...
Death… it’s always near.
There's a promising new resource in the End-of-Life world! As featured in the article Boom Time for Death Planning in The New York Times on July 16, 2020, it's called Near. Explaining the name, they say ”While others may move away from the conversation and...
Does it make you smile?
Saying Goodbye as an activity
Forget what you know about funerals. If there were no normal funeral custom already existing, and a beloved person in your life died, what would you rather do—Roll up your sleeves and do something in their honor, or go sit in some chairs somewhere, following awkward,...
Put the ache in your heart into action
Hello Fellow Quarantined Humans,Does anyone need another voice saying “Crazy, scary times!”?I know I don’t. I actually don’t even want to hear myself think anymore.But avoiding it is futile. You might as well try hugging your neighbors.My heart goes out to everyone in...
“I‘m in”
After a few hopeless starts for this blog post, I’m leaving it at this: Make friends with “I don't know.” Like good, good friends. BFFs. Throw a Welcome Party for uncertainty. And try to take in, deep in your bones, that all of this stuff in our lives is a complete...
For the Living
A heartbreaking story in Kentucky of a mom and her 12-year-old daughter killed in a car crash. And buried together in the same casket. It doesn't make the tragedy easier to bear, but it provides just a tad bit of relief from the darkness. It's another reminder of how...
Glitter Caskets… something for everyone
Glitter caskets, people! Not for your average corpse: What says Inhabitant Loved Life!! more than a crazy shiny, glittery box for eternity? And that, in a glittery nutshell, is why I love them. The photo is from the collection of The Glitter Coffin Company based in...
New Year’s Revelation
Happy 2020! New Year’s seems like weeks ago already. How is that possible? It seems unanimous that time is flying faster than ever. With a new year, and a new decade to boot, comes new perspectives. What’s disguising itself as a perspective, for me, is more an...
Coming to terms, a little philosophy
I think about death a lot. But unlike funerals directors or healthcare workers, for me it's mostly theoretical. I'm fascinated by the dichotomy we live in: Knowing we aren't immortal, yet mainly living in denial of it. It seems to me that if we really accepted death,...
One Hour to a Better Goodbye
I Want a Fun Funeral is ever evolving, my friends. Chalk it up to my own revelations about life and death and how we relate to it, as well as the seismic shifts that are going on in the actual funeral industry. One of my bugaboos has always been the cost of funerals....