by Linda Stuart | Dec 12, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying, Ritual Moments
It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year: Bright lights, cheerful greetings, the jubilant faces of excited children, and tasty treats everywhere you go. It’s a time for family to come together, for friends to celebrate, for treasured heirloom...
by Linda Stuart | Nov 29, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying, Ritual Moments
I sleepily stirred my coffee while attempting to focus my blurry vision on the shards of ice that covered the backyard deck and patio furniture. I stared in disbelief out the window. The calendar said it was still autumn, but my feet, cold and bare on the...
by Linda Stuart | Oct 28, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying, Ritual Moments
I know, I know. It was never your intention to keep grandma in the closet. She used to have a proper home: Lovingly perched on your parents’ rustic fireplace mantel, next to her bright smiling face delicately framed in antique silver. But when dad died and mom...
by Linda Stuart | Jul 27, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying, Ritual Moments
“We sincerely apologize for the unfortunate delay,” the pilot announced just after we touched down at Prestwick Airport in Scotland. I scrambled to get off the plane and through customs, but with over an hour drive to the Glasgow Crematorium, it was no...
by Linda Stuart | Apr 17, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying, Ritual Moments
“Linda!” my mother shouted from the kitchen. “Come quickly–something’s wrong with George!” Like many eight-year-old girls, I had pleaded for a puppy (a pony would have also worked). But my Dad had brought home George instead, and it...
by Linda Stuart | Mar 31, 2016 | Funerals, Death, and Dying
In her dresser drawer, they discovered a hand-written note that read, “When I die, please do nothing.” She had just taken her last breath. And so began the distressing dilemma that many families face: Honouring their loved-one’s request to do nothing or...
