Ask Barb - Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Centers

My son teases me that I’m obsessed by time.  In some ways he’s probably right.  I handled a funeral service for a wonderful family this weekend. Their dad enjoyed every moment he had. This man was married 59 years, and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren reflected  the joy he had for life.  He worked for the same company for over forty years, but he always put his family first. 

A friend called to tell me her husband was facing a possible terminal diagnosis, but he wasn’t upset.  Having married the couple years ago I knew why she “thought” he was taking it so well.  He understands that the only guarantee we have is the moment that we live in right now.  There may be some tough decisions down the road but he wasn’t going to waste his energy on an “if”.

There is a wonderful, quick read on www.livinginthedash.com. The poem called “The Dash” expresses this simple concept.  Treat everyday as if it is your living legacy.  Tim McGraw shared the same message in “Live Like You Were Dying”.  The reality is, we all are!

I think most of us never think of our experts in a specific career field needing other experts as their mentors. However, the reality of life is,  we  should all be life long learners.  Flanner and Buchanan will welcome just such a mentoring expert to the Indianapolis area on April 21-22, 2010. On April 21st Dr. Wolfelt will present “Healing Your Grieving Heart When Someone You Love Has Died” from 7:00-9:00p.m..  Thursday, April 22, Dr. Wolfelt will present Death,Grief & Mourning: Essential Care-giving Principles and Practices from 9:00a.m.-3:30 p.m.

 Ask Oprah or Larry King, Dr. Alan Wolfelt is an author,educator, and  grief counselor with a well document reputation in the field of grief. As a husband, and father of three children, Dr. Wolfelt understands the life altering nature of the mourning process.  If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Wolflet’s visit feel free to contact mwilliams@buchanangroup.org or for more specifics about Dr. Wolfelt check out www.centerforloss.com  I’ve attended several of his sessions and personally recommend the experience.

As a member of the Green Burial Council I have the opportunity of learning about all kinds of wonderful community projects.

Green Piece Indy had a great opportunity on today’s Blog I thought I’d share.  Feel free to take a closer look at tips@greenpieceindy.com

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful is currently taking applications from local high school students for its Youth Tree Team.  The nine week summer program begins June 7th and runs through August 5th.  High school students will actively participate in tree landscaping  in exchange for $8 per hour and a free lunch.

For more details, register at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful by March 5th.  They have a four step application process to make sure they are selecting the right team for the summer.  As they point out on Green Piece Indy …. you can learn something, get a tan, help the planet, and make some money.  Sounds like a winning opportunity all the way around.  Check it out.