Categories
Retirement

Saying a Eulogy

Few things in life are harder than saying a few things (eulogy) at a friends funeral or celebration of life.

As we get in our 60s, 70s and over, there seems to be more occasions where we feel compelled to say a few words about a friend or relative at these events.

It pays to put some time into writing down some memories about the person from your personal experiences with them. You knew them well, so it won’t be hard to remember many things you might like to share. You will be sharing them with others who also knew the person well.

Some things to share would be how long you knew the person and what your relationship was. Of course, you want to share positive things about the person and to be honest and not exaggerate.

Share personal stories and some light hearted moments as well. It is not a summary of the person’s life, or even your history with them. Share little things the person used to say or do. Asking your spouse or a friend who will not be speaking for input is a good idea. Remember, it’s not about you.

Write down what you plan to say and practice saying it a few times. It will be hard to keep your compose and that is completely alright and normal. Taking a short pause can help, if you feel you are loosing it.

Other people probably will be speaking also,  so plan to keep your talk rather short, say 3 to 5 minutes.  It may take longer to deliver than you planned, so that is a good reason to plan to keep it short. Be brief as possible, do not go too long.

I have been to two “Celebration of Life” events recently and I personally like that format much better than the traditional funeral.  They are a little more informal and more people seem to share stories about the time they spent with, laughed with and life experiences with the person who died. But even in a less formal setting, when you get up to say a few words to the group, it will still be hard and you will need to prepare.

By getting up and saying a few words, you will be sharing with other friends and relatives of the deceased and they will appreciate it.  Sometimes you feel you just owe it to the person who died, to say how you enjoyed knowing them and paying a tribute to their life.

 

Categories
Active Adult Living Del Webb Communities

5 Reason to Take a Day Trip

Active Adult Communities offer all kinds of travel opportunities for their residents and the Day Trip is one of the most popular activities.

One of the 80 clubs we have at our Active Adult Community is the Day Trippers Club, which has 701 members. The club description reads

“Day Trippers take a different trip each month. We are limited to excursions that can be completed within one day. We go to places within a 150 mile radius from the Village”.

Day Tour

The club dues are only $5 per year but there is a fee for each day trip you sign up for.  They usually charter a nice tour bus that seats like 50 people and two experienced club volunteers escorting the group and the professional driver on the trip.

I took the top photo of the inside of the bus when I was recently taking the day trip to Cherokee Casino in NC. The fee was $30 and I was traveler number 50 on a full bus. We boarded the bus in our parking lot at 8:30AM and headed out for our day trip to Cherokee NC which is about 122 miles North of our community. We passed through scenic North Georgia taking a restroom and coffee stop about half way to stretch our legs. I sat with a gentleman whose wife didn’t want to come on this trip either and we had the best time talking with each other. We ended up spending the day with each other, gaming together and having lunch. We left Cherokee about 3pm and stopped at Jaemor Farms on the way back. At Jaemor I bought a fresh peach tart and bags of tomatoes and peaches. We were back in our parking lot before 6:30pm. It was an enjoyable day.

Days trips I have taken here and other places are to the Tellus Science Museum, Atlanta City and History tour, visit to historic Oakland Cemetary, North Georgia winery tour. Others tours include the popular tour coming up in December to hear the Atlanta Sympothy at the Fox Thretre and lunch at a nice restaurant.  Mary Ann is going with a friend to see Cirque Du Soleil Lizia at Atlantic Station. All days trips I have been on have an opportunity for a nice lunch, which you will pay for yourself.
socializing

5 Reasons To Take A Day Trip

  1. Exciting thing to do for the day.
  2. Meet new people you travel with.
  3. Relatively inexpensive.
  4. Short, not too tiring.
  5. Get to come home to sleep in your own bed

Days trips are another reason to consider living in an 55+ Active Adult Community.