I was 12 years old the first time I saw a dead body.  It was my nonno (grandfather).  I remember two things.  I remember how small he looked inside the big red wood coffin and I remember his eyebrows.  My nonno died of cancer and he had lost his eyebrows through his treatments.  So when I saw that someone had painted on some eyebrows after he had died I was horrified.

Since then I have unfortunately been to several more funerals.  And from these experiences I realise that I don’t want the traditional funeral with all its rituals.  It’s just not for me.  But I know that when a loved one dies we need to come together in some form so that we can support eachother in our mourning and also take time out to reflect and celebrate the life that was lived.

This might sound all a bit morbid but when I was writing my living will I thought a lot about my funeral.  So I’ve decided that I want my friends and family to remember me and celebrate my life in a slightly different way.  I wish for them to go to my favourite restaurant and enjoy themselves while eating my favourite food and drinking my favourite wine.  I believe this is the best way to remember me.  Not by sitting in a stuffy funeral parlour but by doing something that has brought me so much joy over my life.  By doing something that I love doing, laughing and chatting while devouring delicate seafood swished down with French champagne.