Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2003. Mattie was 10 months old and he absolutely loved zooming around our first floor in his "tot wheels." He was a curious fellow, who enjoyed opening drawers and exploring what was inside. All I can say is that life with Mattie was NEVER boring. He was full of life and packed a lot into his seven years on this earth.
Quote of the day: Devotion is the purest form of giving. ~ Eckhart Tolle
This morning, after I got my dad showered, dressed and downstairs, we were sitting at the breakfast table awaiting his in-home nurse visit. I should mention that on top of everything else I am juggling, I have been dealing with one pressure sore after the other with my dad. Just when one heals, another pops up, or we start the cycle all over again with previous sores opening up. It is a non-stop battle to keep him clean and dry. I have no idea how I would manage my dad if I couldn't shower him each day. The shower gives me half a chance to keep his skin clean and intact.
Any case, back to the breakfast table. My mom gets a newspaper delivered to the house each day. My dad wanted to look at the paper. I handed it to him, and he looked at one picture and then tossed the paper. So I asked him what did he see? The answer was NOTHING! This led me to pick up the paper and see what was on the front page.
Ironically what caught my attention was...."Cemetery Offers To Turn Loved Ones Into Gardening Soil." Seriously when I read this, I thought this was a joke. Therefore, I kept on reading. It is no joke and apparently in the USA, 14 states have legalized human composting, starting with Washington in 2019. There are many reasons this new format is being introduced and proposed, such as:
- Cemeteries are running out of space for the growing need for plots
- People are looking for more earth friendly (biodegradable) options
- More cost effective than a burial (as a burial can be $30K or more)
I honestly do not know how I feel about this, because the process of composing human remains, means going into a vat like structure for 40 days, being rocked back and forth. These vats are housed in big rooms, and family members are allowed to come visit the vats and sit by the body as it decomposes. I don't know where I stand on that idea! The notion is that once decomposed, the remains can be used to provide fertilizer and nutrients for the greenery of the cemetery. Proponents of this feel like it gives people "agency" over their death and how they will be remembered.
Naturally, religious minded groups have issues with this notion, as it is not deemed to be pious and respectful of the human body. While several Funeral Home Associations are raising concerns about the regulation of the resulting human soil. Some of the states that allow human composting prohibit using the resulting soil for growing food crops. To me, how you manage a loved one's death is a very personal choice. However, what I do know is that a funeral and burial are really for those left behind, not the dead. Once dead, you have NO agency! So I think if one decides this is the option they want to go with, a discussion with family would be important.
If you are interested, you can check out this short news clip on this topic below. But for those of us like me, who do not have a spouse or children, the notion of our death brings about a host of feelings. There will be no one overseeing what happens to us when we die. I have a friend (whose husband up and left her after many decades together) who jokes with me that when she dies, she will sit on a shelf at a funeral home unclaimed. That may sound like a joke, but in our case this is a sobering reality. So perhaps for me becoming one with the earth is a peaceful notion, because I believe God will accept my spirit into heaven regardless of the physical form of my body.
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