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What Funeral Webcasting Could Have
Done For My Family
By M McHale
Growing up as part of a large, tight knit family, we
were always there for each of life's special occasions.
Whether it was a birthday, a graduation, wedding, or
funeral, the family came together to celebrate,
reminisce and laugh. It's what got us through good times
and bad.
As an adult, I find my family fractured. Not in a family
fight or disturbing way, but just broken up over the
shear distance we now live from each other. Gone are the
weekends at the lake in Pennsylvania, the family
reunions down the Jersey Shore and the convergence on a
banquet facility for a special event.
The main interactions we have now are virtual. My close
knit family is now my virtual one. The cousins with
which I skipped rocks with on the lake, threw Frisbees
with on the beach, and drank root beer straight from the
keg and laughed and laughed and laughed again with - are
now avatars and text messages.
In many ways having a virtual family is definitely
better than losing touch. I still see the pictures from
birthday parties, new additions to the family tree and
will occasionally be reminded of an adventure my cousins
and I had during our youth. Our chats are sometimes
reduced to 140 characters, but sometimes that's part of
the fun.
Several years ago, when I heard my favorite Aunt she had
only hours to live, I booked a flight home. I didn't
make it in time, but I was there with the rest of my
family for her funeral and it was beautiful. The church
was packed. My Uncle delivered her eulogy. There wasn't
a dry eye in the building.
What was missing though, was my Father, her only
brother. Having been ill for quite some time he didn't
have the strength to attend. The flight home, the long
drive to the country and the stress of the funeral would
have been too much for him to bear. So, as we sat
together as a family in a small country church in
Northeastern Pennsylvania, my Dad sat at home in Florida
- alone with his memories of his sister.
Had funeral webcasting been available, my Dad would have
been able to say good-bye. He would have been able to
see our family together and had been a part of that
special day. He would have loved the eulogy as it was
filled with special memories and funny stories.
I think missing the funeral was something that weighed
heavily on him. He often would say with regret that he
wished he wasn't confined to the house and could have
been there. I wished he had too. The family needed him
and he needed us.
Maureen McHale is a web marketing consultant.
The best place on the web to learn more about funeral
webcasting is Frazer Consultants. This company has a
solid reputation of developing high performing and
reliable technology for the deathcare industry. They
also have a beautiful selection of funeral keepsakes and
holiday remembrance ornaments. |
