Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Mom's Open House

Here's a picture of the table set up that we did for Mom's Open House. We chose to do an open house as opposed to a funeral. Mom was a simple person and would have liked this format we did. I served a finger food buffet in the kitchen. Friends and Family came and went between 1 and 8 p.m. I pushed the dining room table against the opposite wall and put her quilt on it as a table cloth. My brother and I then went through pictures to pull out ones that we felt best represented her life. I typed up a brief eulogy of her life and then we put flowers, candles and her favorite turtle statue on the table. We'll do a ceremony this summer when we spread her ashes at the meadow. She's been a wonderful addition to our life for the last 4+ years. It was our privilege to take care of her for the last years of her life. I know she felt like she was a burden to us, but she wasn't. We miss out on a lot of blessings in life when we don't take care of the older generation. Mom was a big help to us the first several years when she was able health wise to help out. She's greatly missed already.
Love, Amanda

3 comments:

Granny said...

I would love for my family to have an Open House like you did vs. a traditional funeral when I'm gone. That seems so much more "friendly" than the normal funeral. Of course, I didn't know your mom but I'm thinking she would have been thrilled with the choice you all made.

CONNIE W said...

A very touching post. Your mom is just a few years younger than I and the hairstyle reminds me of our high school yearbooks. I love the photo of her receiving her quilt...the joy on her face is wonderful. Hugs, Connie W

Robin said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. My father passed away at the end of December while my mom was hospitalized in another facility. It has been very trying. I love this idea of the open house, it allowed her friends and family to really reflect on her life.