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This past Friday, Joni and I attended a shrouding workshop presented by our friends at Endswell Funeral Home in the most serene and beautiful location of BlueStem Conservation Cemetery. Veronica Penn Beattie of Endswell offered a thoughtful demonstration on how to gently care for a loved one after death. We learned meaningful techniques for washing and preparing the body, how to safely move it, and hands on learning of how to wrap beautifully in a cotton shroud or a cherished family quilt. The workshop was held at BlueStem Conservation Cemetery, located in Cedar Grove, North Carolina. BlueStem is a public green space designed as a place of reverence in a nature preserve, offering fields of restored native grasses, creeks, a pond, miles of hiking trails, areas for quiet reflection and a nonprofit cemetery for green burial. Links to learn more about either Endswell aquamation or green burial at: https://www.bluestemcemetery.org/ https://endswellfuneralhome.com/
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Both Joni and I are pleased to announce that we have received our certifications as Death Literacy Specialists. What is that, you may ask? The short answer is the knowledge of life's final phase and available deathcare options. We believe people have the right to be active participants in their care journeys. We also believe that information can allay anxiety, preparation can lessen stress and awareness can encourage agency and connection. We are always available to speak to you, your family or your group about a topic most of us have trouble with.  Each year, near the solstice, Joni and I travel to Georgia to celebrate our Crone sisterhood at a holiday gathering. It’s a long drive to Marietta, but a drive we look forward to each year as it means spending quality time with dear friends, honoring the wisdom that comes along with being an elder woman. Of course, there is celebration and share time, lots of homemade goodies for the buffet lunch, more personal story share time, and this year….SANTA came! What is a Crone you may ask? “Crone provides an energetic consciousness, a radical aliveness, which fuels the fierceness of women’s strength in old age. Crone is a framework for honoring the wisdom of elder women. Crone is a template for communication, community, and communion. Crone is a basis for cooperation and compassion for all living beings. Such a consciousness allows for action in the world or for deep, quiet peacefulness with all that is. Thus, a Crone is an older woman who has learned to walk in her own truth, in her own way, having gained her strength by acknowledging the power and wisdom of the totality of her experience. She is “a wise old woman.” As a woman moves past youth and midlife into old age she consciously takes on the mantle of Crone - a woman who celebrates her survivorship, willingly choosing to continue forward in life with all the gusto she can muster. A Crone is a woman burnished bright by an inner fire that sharpens both her wit and her intensity, her passion and her power.” Both Joni and I are so honored and proud to be included in this group. Until next year! We are excited to start this blog to share information and wisdom with you. We're looking forward to starting different forms of content, including some great videos. Stay tuned for more!  |
