To Bury or to Cremate

This is something you should think about before you die. Do your family this courtesy. But,my ou don’t expect to have to discuss their preference with your children.

It might seem burial is the better option. No horrible images of your loved one’s body going up in flames. However, there are pros and cons to each option.

Burial- if you want a place to visit your loved one, burial gives you that. You can picture him peacefully resting in the box beneath the ground. The funeral industry will sell you waterproof vaults so they can stay nice and dry. However, no matter what, they are not preserved. The moment someone dies, after their spirit has departed the body, the body is of no more use and the body starts to decay. Embalming retards this process, but the body will decay eventually.

Cremation- cremation is an acceptance that the body is not going to stay around forever in spite of your efforts. Cremation gives you options like spreading your loved one’s remains at a favorite place, putting them in an urn, even making them into jewelry or art. But, no matter which of these you choose, you are only taking the remains of what remains after your loved one is consumed and symbolically keeping them with you.

We opted for cremation. We agonized over what Shayna would prefer, but we couldn’t really know. We were scared to discuss it with Kayla and didn’t for a few days. Once again, our girls surprised us. Shayna had discussed it with Kayla and had said she wanted to be cremated and placed at the base of a tree. She loved nature while she was here.

We will remember Shayna always. Our mementos will be thumbprint pendants for Ty and Kayla and probably a thumbprint ring for me. We were going to get a glass orb with a few of her ashes in it. Kayla though it was creepy even though only we would have known what it was. We agreed to buy our own glass object for Shayna. The particular molecules don’t matter.

We were all stardust at one time and to dust we will all return. While we are here, we borrow matter to make our bodies, but even while we live our bodies are constantly absorbing and excreting matter. We are not the same now as we were yesterday. Don’t cling to the body after death. It is an empty shell.