Caskets
In reference to my post yesterday on celebrating death, assets, and graves …
I love fall! I love scarecrows and pumpkins and fall decor. I love the colors, the trees, the falling leaves. I love mums and fall flowers.
I enjoy costumes! Dressing up and seeing kids in cute costumes! Darling superheroes, princesses, and fluffy animals. Creative costumes made by loving moms and grandmas. I love these!
But I do not like Halloween. I do not celebrate death. Ever.
I remember visiting a church eight months after Andrew died. Great service, great message. But someone decided that it would be appropriate to have a visual object lesson in the lobby after the service.
We walked out of the service, having chatted with friends, and walked into the lobby …. to see a casket sitting there, to remind us we are not promised tomorrow. The exact style and color casket we had buried our son in just months before.
We felt like we’d been punched in the gut. We walked to our car without a word. We said very little on the way home. It was horrible.
When decorating, I know you don’t think about everyone who might be offended; you shouldn’t have to. I know you choose decor you like, whatever you think is fun. That’s okay. It’s your house, your decor. You can do as you please.
As for me and my house…using a casket as decoration or an object lesson is just not okay. Not ever.
Note: I found a picture of the casket. Same style. Same color. But I just can’t. I can’t use a picture of a casket as an illustration for this post. I can disrespect grieving people by do that. I just can’t.