Plan for the Future

Yesterday, I sang at a funeral for a member of the church. I don't know if he knew me, but his wife does. As I was sitting in my seat, my mind begins to wander, as it does. I was looking at the coffin and the size of it dawned something in my mind.

My brother is three years younger than. Women tend to live longer than men, so it's entirely possible that I will live longer than my brother. The thought occurred to me that finding a coffin long enough to fit him might be a problem. Would we have to get one long enough or would they break his legs to fit him in? Would he even want to be buried? He's very into zombies and the zombie apocalypse right now, so would he want to be cremated to ensure he doesn't come back as a zombie? I realized that, while my brother and I are close, he has never mentioned these ideas to me.

So I asked him. Before I could get very far, he immediately stopped me and said that he didn't want to talk about that, the idea really disturbs him and to never mention it again.

I was a little surprised by this. Most people in my family know that I want to be cremated and have a general idea of what music I want for my funeral (Faure's Requiem, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, Jesu Lover of My Soul, O God Our Help in Ages Past and (if I die at the right time of year) St. Patrick's Breastplate).

Maybe I'm more open about this kind of thing. Maybe I'm more realistic. Maybe my brother is too sensitive about this topic.

Or maybe I'm just morbid.