How did I get into this work?

People often ask me how I got into funerals and I attribute these two amazing humans to leading me to this path…

I was only 13, and I was staying with my grandparents on my school holidays. Early one Sunday morning, my granny woke me to tell me my grandad was very unwell. While we waited for the doctor and other family members to arrive, my granny explained to me,  in a calm and accepting way that my grandfather was dying.   In that present moment, she showed me that death is part of life and not to fear its arrival. 

For the next couple of hours, his family sat with him as he took his final breathes. He passed away peacefully, with his wife and his family including myself, by his side. 

During the next 3 days my grandfather’s body rested at home and friends and family gathered for his “wake”. 

Despite whatever she was feeling, my granny led her large family in ritual and prayer with such wisdom and grace.

10 years later, I sat with my granny as she took her final breathes.  A deeply religious woman,  all her life she prayed daily for a peaceful death.  A wish she was afforded.

Sarah Kerr, the wonderful ritual healing practitioner says “we aren’t born knowing how to navigate our lives, we learn the skills from our families and our communities”.  

Some cultures believe it is the last job of grandparents, to teach their grandchildren about death. 

Doing this work has always felt like coming home for me. It is a space I feel comfortable and I certainly learned how to walk along side death from two of the greatest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. 

Rest in peace granny and grandad and thank you for all that you have taught me.