My Funeral

January 8, 2021
I have a confession. This is NOT the year I will be getting my affairs in order – as in updating my will and my preferences concerning my funeral service.  
 
Why? I simply can’t wrap my arms round the fact of my own mortality. Yes. Yes. Even Covid awareness has not YET jumpstarted this process.
 
January 8, 2025
I have a confession. This IS the year I am beginning to get my affairs in order. Why? 

• Because friends are going into assisted living due to cognitive decline. 
• Friends are dying – some whom are even years younger than me. 
• And I am living my life less efficiently than in the past – related to my short-term memory getting even shorter.
• And I found out that I have sleep apnea – some aspects which are moderate and some more severe.
• And I found out that my osteopenia is now osteoporosis – necessitating physical therapy and a change in medication.
• EEK!

 
The above revelations are reflected in the growing girth of the entries into the Notes section of my I phone under the listing “MY FUNERAL”. 
Here’s a few of my meandering items:
 
THEME: I love what Alex Van Halen said. “In the effort lies the reward.” I wasn’t always successful in the many things I did, but I ALWAYS TRIED. I’d like this theme incorporated into any remarks.
 
MUSIC to be played:

“Keep Me In Your Heart For Awhile” by Warren Zevon
Shadows are fallin’ and I’m runnin’ out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while
When you get up in the mornin’ and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for a while
There’s a train leavin’ nightly called “When All is Said and Done”
Keep me in your heart for a while
Keep me in your heart for a while
Keep me in your heart for a while…
 
“Forever Young” by Bob Dylan  
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young
 
May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young
 
May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
 
POEMS to be read:

“If” by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing their and blaming it on you
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies or being hated, don’t give way to hating
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise…
(This is just part of the poem – I’d like the whole thing read.)
 
 
“Splendor In The Grass” by William Wordsworth
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass
and glory in the flower
We will grieve not
But rather find
Strength in what remains behind.
 
All the rest of the details of my funeral are TBD:
The Setting
The Place
The Time
The Date
 
Hopefully I will have many more years to think about those finer points and fill in the missing details.
 
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,