Support for The Upside Down Days
I dread the days before, during and after the funeral.
At my father's funeral Mass last July, I sat in the front pew, the last one in the pew so I could easily get up to deliver my dad's eulogy. My sister sat on my other side.
At one point during Mass, the kind choir direct silently signaled to me with her hands that it was time to stand. I stood. My sister grabbed my hand and pulled me back down as she whispered, "It's not time to stand. Sit!" So, I sat but only long enough to point out that everyone was standing but us. I stood, then she stood followed by her husband and kids.
We looked like it was our first time at Mass. In truth, my sister and I attended weekly Sunday Mass for decades. We instinctively know the ritual around reciting, sitting, standing and kneeling. It's usually second nature.
But during a funeral Mass, especially for a caree, it's a completely different world.
What's down is up and what's up is down.
The day of the funeral is just one of the upside-down days we experience after our caree's death. Honestly, the days after the death; the days before, during and after the funeral; and the days spent settling the estate are the days I dread the most. Give me a long wait in the hallway of the Emergency Room over a funeral planning meeting two days after a caree's death any day.
The dread over these days inspired me to create our Comfort Care Family Coach training program after my mom's death in 2022 and my brother's death in 2021. I created the program for those individuals who want to specialize in supporting family caregivers after their caree begins comfort care, through the caree's death and during those awful upside-down days after death.
Hospice services end with a caree's death but our need for support continues and, at times, intensifies. We need a Comfort Care Family Coach to offer suggestions, listen with empathy, and offer support through the obituary writing, funeral planning and estate settling plus everything else.
I truly believe everyone needs a special kind of support only another who has lived through those upside-down days can provide. Because I believe everyone deserves this kind of support, I want to train as many Comfort Care Family Coaches as I can. To encourage you to consider this work, our Comfort Care Family Coach training program is on sale through August 25. When you use coupon code OWN, you'll save 20%.
I'm proud of the comforting support offered by Comfort Care Family Coaches. I love that CCFC clients may be eligible to use their Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for Caregiving Support Services offered through their Comfort Care Family Coach. (Clients also may be eligible to use HSA or FSA dollars for services offered through a Certified Caregiving Consultant or Professional Listening Artist, too. These programs also are on sale; use coupon code OWN to save 20%).
Would you like to learn more about our programs and ask questions to learn which program may be right fit for you? Join me on Friday, August 16, at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT, 10 a.m. PT) to learn more about each program.
I believe one of the best ways to own your caregiving experience is through your own small business serving family caregivers. I'd love to help you make that happen.
Your Next Steps
Learn more about the training programs on sale through August 25.
Join me on August 16 at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT, 10 a.m. PT) to learn more about each program.
(Image by Matthias Böckel from Pixabay.)