Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The funeral home - surprisingly way better than I thought

I have to say this was the step I think I was dreading most. I've never walked into one before and all I had going through my head was my Dad telling me don't let them talk you into the most expensive of anything. Then it was images from movies.

I was super calm though and when we walked into the selection room. I was picturing full caskets but when I walked in they just displayed the corners.

I spotted my Dad's in a heart beat, he wanted simple, simple, simple. The urn was also an immediate pick it's silver and I thought of the word strong when I saw it and that was my Dad.

It's a crazy amount of stuff you can choose though. I saw one casket that looked like it was solid metal. It was and the Funeral Director told me it cost $5000.

I did get one thing that Dad might think was frivolous. They have a pendant where they can put a scan of the fingerprint. The minute I saw it I knew I was going to get one.

I left calm and in fact found that process not as remotely horrible as I thought, however it helped knowing his wishes and not having any other family. I can just imagine how it can get far more complicated.

I'm hoping to have the ashes by Friday so I can take them with me when I head out to Dad's house on the weekend. I went through my cell phone looking for a contact and saw all his numbers so I deleted them. I kept the land line but renamed it "The Land" which is what we called the property before my Dad built the house. While a relatively calm day I know this is going to be a long process. I'm trying to make sure I'm flipping into a be strong facade and just let myself feel.

I now need a new ICE (In Case of Emergency) number in my phone not sure what to do about that.

I booked the rental too and asked for a Ford Escape. I was to go for a week visit in the 3rd week of July and I was planning on renting a car and going up to surprise him. We had talked about me buying a vehicle this year and the original plan was in the winter which it might still be. I'm also pondering getting a Ford Escape so it's an opportunity for a week test drive. My Dad had a Chevy Aveo standard transmission. While I learned how to drive a standard it's been awhile and in the city you're shifting every 5 minutes. I am going to have to figure it out or get a friend to drive it to Calgary and I go back to the days of practicing in the early mornings in empty parking lots.

The decisions are truly endless but I'm not yet feeling overwhelmed and I know I have huge support around me should I get overwhelmed.

In a moment dedicated to what I normally blog about the attempt to be fit and the races.

This came today


I don't really get the Vinylmation at Disney but when I saw this I had to have it and I intend to put it on my new desk at work. As I will soon have to stop off at the gym after work not just go 4 doors down from my camp room I think the determined look on his face is a good motivator.

Speaking of camp room. Tomorrow is my last trip to site as I'm going up to pack. It's kind of weird as it's not like when I normally fly. I don't need to bring anything with me as the purpose is to permanently leave site. I did finally get a Calgary office number today which is cute as I would normally be starting in Calgary this coming Monday.

Thank you for being patient with me as I work through this process, normal scheduling will return.

1 comment:

Enz said...

You are doing great. Keep taking one day at a time. Having stuff to do is helpful. Hugs.