At Home With The Dead

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Hope you’re having a good day no matter what, I’m still cheery even though my other half left my card and present at work. Maybe I’m cheery because Pancake Day is more my thing and yesterday I ate a lot of pancakes. Standard. Earlier this week I was pointed in the direction of this video available on BBC News, where a man explains why he kept his wife at home for 6 days after she died rather than admit her to a mortuary. He explains that for 6 days it allowed his family to grieve and deal with their bereavement in their own way even though such an act is deemed controversial it would appear.It begs me to ask myself if I would keep a loved one at home after they had died. Did you even know this was an option? I did feel that this video’s purpose was partly to just say that this was a thing you can do. As long as the death is registered then this is perfectly legal. In fact, for a long time and within living memory it was tradition to have your family member stay at home until the funeral. It allowed family members to visit and a period of mourning to be in place. It’s also very commonplace in a number of other cultures around the world, not as peculiar as you might believe then. I like the fact this man in Derbyshire decided that keeping his wife at home was what he wanted to do, for him and his family. I’ve read a few times that by seeing a loved one while grieving can help you come to terms with your loss. I understand the thought process behind this and it’s an aspect I’d definitely like to look into further. He is quoted as wanting to help change attitudes towards death and I’m all for anything which progresses forward in this way.

For now, let me know your thoughts on this because I’d love to discuss further and hear your viewpoints. I’d like to point out I had my own reservations as well as positives, simply through what changes would happen in the body six days after death and whether I would want to see a loved one in those stages of decomposition. I’m not certain what would happen or what might have been in place to prevent it but the chance there would be some kind of changes is very high I would imagine. If you have any thoughts you’d like to share please do get in touch via social media or the comments below.

Hope you are having a great week and thank you for reading!

MG x