My mother presented her own funeral plans.
She had written down everything that she wanted and didn't want.
The first item on her list was the casket.
She wanted just a plain pine box,
Nothing fancy.
She also instructed the grandchildren to pick the wildflowers and that we didn't need to buy them because God provided them in his garden here on earth.
And if it was wintertime,
Use pine cones,
Berries and vines.
She wanted special bread baked.
She belonged to a group called the Pilgrims and they knew my mother pretty well so they knew what kind of bread she wanted and had to be braided and shaped in the round if possible.
And we had the bell choir and we had the song on eagle's wings.
She wanted everyone to partake with the bread and also to have a little tiny little sip of wine which would not normally have been her request but she was laughing about that since alcoholism in the family was very much a part of my mother's suffering.
But she wanted everyone to participate in the agape,
To eat the bread,
Drink the wine,
Sing the song and celebrate her passing.
