Funerals

In the month I have attended a lot of funerals.
I am not sure what is happening, but I have been involved (attending/helping) with at least five funerals.

I like funerals, but I HATE that they happen after the person has passed away.
What a wonderful celebration of life.  Does the person who has passed on know how many people they touched?  Do they know all the small stories that are told on how they effected someone they might not have even known about?

The SMART way to do a funeral is when someone is still alive and able to enjoy it.  I understand this is tricky, because who really knows when we will die, but honestly if I know I am going to pass away I want my funeral when I can still attend it.

I always ask Lucas who he wants to speak at his funeral if he were to die.  He never answers me.  I just get a "I don't want to think about it."

After every funeral I attend I think  "Who would I want to speak at mine, and what would I want people to say?"
I didn't really think about it yesterday after attending a funeral, but that is because I was totally enthralled with an experience I have never had before.


I was able to sit and eat with a couple of Amish couples.  I have been reading about the Amish in both romaticised writing and about their way of thinking and life.  I know they are books and can't honestly grasp the true life of daily living, but I am LOVING learning about them.

I am inspired by their way of thinking about the individual and how being modest (not in dress, but in all of lifes aspects) is most important.

There was about 6 Amish couples attending the funeral since the man who passed away was a driver for them.  Since they don't drive, but so much of their work and grocery shopping is far away, they hire drivers to take them places.  Lucas drove the Amish for a while when he was working construction with them.

They all sat boy/girl/boy/girl at the table, but you could tell they were all married (Amish men stop shaving when they get married).  I sat in front of the couple on the end and asked if I could sit with them.  The couple right in front of me were very talkative and friendly, the couple next to them-not so much.  Mary Ann and Luis talked and answered my questions and I volunteered information about myself since it seems they are not ones to openly ask questions.  The man sitting next to Mary Ann was her brother and he was very quiet. His wife, though I didn't get her name, seemed like she wanted to engage in the conversation,  but she was pretty shy so I mostly talked with Mary Ann and Luis.

We talked about where they were from, where I was from, how many kids they have (a 1 year old and a 2 year old), talked a little religion--discussed "wards/communities/congregations".  We talked about their families and traveling (since they both were from other states).  It was amazing.  I just want to be a fly on the wall for about a week and see how life works for them.  They all were very kind, nice, and open.

One thing I have been trying to achieve since I started reading these books is to live more simply.  It is amazing to me how calm life is when I don't have 1 million things to choose, decide, all within the hour I wake up.  I have a long way to go, but I have removed about 4 bags of trash, and about 20 boxes of stuff from my house in the past few weeks---and I am just getting started!