Dear Judy,
Eight years ago my wife died, leaving me with a son, who is now 14. At the time, I weighed the pros and cons (I even went to a shrink for advice on the subject), and in the end I decided my son should be spared his mother’s funeral. Bad enough he lost her, [...]
Dear Judy,
I’m 60, and I had a recent health scare. It turned out to be nothing serious, but I think I really learned something from the experience. I want to start preparing now for the inevitable.
But my stabs at wise planning — Living Will, funeral planning (I want cremation) etc — are scaring the hell out [...]
Dear Judy
I guess in a way I’m lucky, even though terminal (prostate cancer, pretty damn aggressive, and it’s expected to finish me off in a year or so…). I have my good days, or good half-days, and I’m able to plan my funeral, which I see in your recent blogs you highly recommend. I’ve chosen [...]
One of my favorite coffin-buying stories was told to me by the television chef Nigella Lawson about her own mother. Year ago at age 49, Vanessa Lawson was diagnosed with liver cancer and given just weeks to live.
Nigella, 25 at the time of her mother’s diagnosis, got the diagnosis from her mother’s physician. That is [...]
Dear Judy,
How would you determine at what age a youngster is equipped to go to a funeral? Does it depend more on the relationship with the dead person, do you think? Or are there age guidelines? I am really in a quandary.
Mrs. C in Chicago
Dear Mrs C,
I do believe, and I [...]
Dear Judy
When my father, from whom I was estranged, died my mother insisted for reasons I cannot fathom that I go to his funeral. God knows why, but I did go. I’m still kicking myself. When my father left the family, I was 11, my sister 10, and he barely paid any attention at all to any of [...]
Welcome to theCheckoutLine.org
Posted on January 24th, 2009