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June 23, 2018

Funeral Q&A With My Husband

One of the reasons why I am able to be a funeral director is because of the support that I have from my husband, Josiah. This is a heavy career. The grief that you carry from the families you serve can be so overwhelming at times that it makes you question why you ever decided to embark on this death journey. It’s easy to take all of these emotions and stress home with you. It’s even easier to succumb to depression within the funeral industry because there is often little to no work-home balance.

I started dating my husband when I was a fifteen year old sophomore in high school. We went to a Catholic school, and at the beginning of every year we would have a walk-a-thon to raise money for one thing or another. It was September, I was tired, and I spotted him walking a little ways in front of me. I never had classes with Josiah during my freshman year, and I just remember looking at this boy and thinking he was so cute! So I ran up to him and asked him if he’d carry me. He said yes, I jumped on his back and we’ve been together ever since.

I laugh to myself when I think about this encounter. We started off with Josiah physically carrying me, but he has been emotionally and spiritually carrying me ever since that day. I can be a very weak person at times. When my job can seem too much for me to handle he is there cheering me on and helping me to overcome any obstacles in my way. Our life isn’t always perfect, but he is my best friend and he knows me inside out. He constantly encourages me to follow my passions and for that I’m eternally grateful.

I’ve been able to grow up with Josiah. I can only pray that we get to have the privilege of growing old together.

If you’re interested, you can watch a video that we filmed together below. I had him answer questions about what it’s like to be married to a funeral director. Spolier alert: besides for being super handsome, he’s also super funny. (I’m still pondering how the hell I convinced him to marry me.)

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June 12, 2018

STORY TIME: Grieving My Grandmother

I feel like when we think of grandmothers, we think of those sweet little old ladies who silently slip us cookies when our parents aren’t watching. We think of warm hugs and safe places.

This is not who my grandmother was. Although she was little (my brother and I christened her ‘little grandma’).

I know, without a doubt, that my grandma loved me in her own way. To this day, there is still a part of my heart that grieves for the relationship we didn’t have. But I am thankful for what we did have. My grandmother loved crossword puzzles. I know this is where I received my love of words. She loved to do crafts. This helped to spark my own creativity.

And when she died and I did not cry, it didn’t mean that I didn’t love her.

It just meant that my grief was like our relationship; different.

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May 4, 2018

All About Death Certificates

There’s a lot of paperwork involved when a person passes away. More paperwork, I believe, than people realize. Below, I talk about one very important document, a certified death certificate. I explain the information funeral directors are required to fill in at the time of a passing and different things you may need a certified copy for.

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April 16, 2018

Cremation Questions Answered!

A few months ago I sat down with my friend Matt Roberts from the Mount Calvary Cemetery Group to answer different questions regarding the cremation process.

This was something we had wanted to do for a while, so it was fun for us to actually sit down and connect. We want to do another video together, so make certain that you watch the one below and leave your questions in the comment section!

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April 11, 2018

Is Cremation A Problem?

The funeral industry is changing. There is no denying that.

If you’re a funeral home owner, I can guarantee that you’ve thought about the rise in cremation and how it’s impacting your business. Gone are the days of the three day wake, church service, and burial. While there is still plenty of room for tradition, families are walking away from funerals as their parents and grandparents have known them and redefining them to accommodate their lifestyle.

No matter my personal beliefs, it’s my job as a funeral professional to make certain the families I serve have all the information they need to make educated decisions. And even though I am a huge advocate for viewing and spending time with our dead, I personally do not see anything wrong with cremation as a final means of disposition. As a funeral professional, it’s my job to educate the families I serve and figure out how to give them the services they find value in while still educating about the importance of a funeral. It may be a different picture from what we are used to seeing, but there are still reasons certain traditions exist. (I’ll definitely revisit this and go more in detail as to my opinions, don’t worry!)

But I don’t want to stray too far away from the topic of this YouTube video. Watch it below and you be the judge for yourself if cremation is a problem.

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April 10, 2018

Confessions of a Funeral Director Review

I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m a huge fan of Caleb Wilde. Is fan even the correct word to use when referring to a colleague within the same industry? Is colleague the correct word to use when you’ve never met the person in person? Am I being too technical in the introduction of this post? These questions may never have answers, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I like Caleb and enjoy his blog Confessions of a Funeral Director.

I’m not even certain how I stumbled upon Caleb’s blog. I remember reading his post 10 Burdens Funeral Directors Carry, exchanging a few tweets back and forth, and before I knew it, he had asked me if he could feature my post, The Top 5 Things You Should Know About Funeral Directors, on his blog. By the time it went live on his blog, Little Miss Funeral experienced the most traffic, well, ever. (Thanks, Caleb!)

Why am I sharing all of this with you? Well, because I want you to know that I am biased. I can relate to Caleb. We both come from a Christian background. We both work for family funeral homes. We both have been burned out and depressed. So when I found out he was writing a book, I grabbed my credit card and preordered it right away.

Confessions of a Funeral Director: How the Business of Death Saved My Life was the first book that I ever “reviewed” on my YouTube channel. I put “reviewed” in quotations because I realized that I am horrible at actually reviewing things. I basically ramble on for five minutes and thirty four seconds about how much I enjoyed the book while trying to throw in some pros and cons about it because that’s what my husband told me to do (who actually reviews things over at his website, The Geekiverse, and knows how to do a proper review).

Regardless of your religious background and personal beliefs, or if you’re involved in the funeral industry or not, Caleb shares very personal experiences and details in his book. If you come from a similar background you’ll find yourself shaking your head in agreement at some things he says. If you don’t, you’re still invited to understand a little bit more about an unfamiliar world. His book deserves a place among your collection.

Still don’t believe me? Watch me ramble on about it for five minutes and thirty four seconds below.

Okay, but seriously, buy his book here.

I told you I was a fan.

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April 8, 2018

What To Do On A Job Interview (At A Funeral Home)

Hi everyone! I’ve been so bad about sharing my YouTube videos on my blog, so I’m going to try to post a few of them every other day until I’m caught up. Or at least post them until I get busy with work and forget!

The next one that I want to share involves a little story of my first job interview (that kind of wasn’t a job interview) and some suggestions that I have for those who are looking to work in a funeral home. I hope you enjoy it.

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March 18, 2018

Dogs In Funeral Homes

Hi everyone, remember me?

I know that I’ve been terrible at blogging this year. I’ve had a lot of personal things going on that I’ll be able to talk more about in a few months, but to say the least, I’ve been busy. I have been able to somewhat keep up with my YouTube channel (not completely, but much better than I have been with writing.) So below, you can watch a video where I talk about dogs in funeral homes, but more importantly, where my dog Lindy Ruff makes a special guest appearance.

Having a dog helps my mental state tremendously. Lindy is 45 pounds of pure snuggle and love when I come home from work and he immediately lifts my mood. I hope you like the video and don’t worry, I promise I’ll be posting more on here soon!

(Also if you want more videos on grief therapy dogs and their training you can check out this video from TalkDeath and The Modern Mortician)

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January 26, 2018

Public Speaking + Advice

One thing that you tend to do a lot of in funeral service is talk. You talk to small groups during arrangements. You talk in front of larger groups on days of services. You talk one on one with a grieving widow. Mortuary school did not prepare me properly for all of the public speaking that comes along with this job.

In this video, I talk about my own tips and tricks that have been passed down to me by others and ones that I’ve picked up myself throughout my eight years of burying people.

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December 8, 2017

8 Things In A Funeral Director’s Car

This video was so much fun to make! My friend Maggie called me one day telling me that she had this awesome idea for a video; the “what’s in my purse” videos on YouTube, but with a funeral director twist!

On another note, maybe I should do a what’s in my bag video? These lighthearted videos are fun for me to make. I hope that you all like it!

Make sure to comment below any other items that you keep in your car!

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Category: youtube