Losing a loved one will show you who in your life will truly be there for you. The professionals at the funeral homes are going to help you meet your loved one’s needs and you have family members and friends in your life who are also going to support you through the process in a number of ways. Once you have the final services behind you, you may want to reach out to the people who helped you in order to thank them for being there for you. Who all should you acknowledge? Here are a few types of people you want to recognize.
You might be in charge of the final services, but there might be people who helped you with them. Maybe a friend went to the funeral home with you as you made plans and their support meant a lot. Perhaps a family member took on the reception plans, so you didn’t have to. You will want to let them know how much that meant to you as well. Anyone who pitched in with the services is someone you are going to want to thank once the services are behind you.
Lots of services include family members and friends within the activities in the service. If you had a cousin who did a reading, someone who offered a song, and people who acted as pallbearers, you are going to want to thank those individuals. Anyone who participated in the service in some way or another and offered their help to the proceedings should be someone you thank and acknowledge once things are done.
Friends will likely reach out to you when you are grieving with gifts. You may have co-workers come together and send a flower arrangement while your college roommate from ages ago sent a card with money in it. Anyone who sent a gift can is someone you will want to reach out to in return and thank them. It’s a good idea to keep a list of the people who sent items and what they sent so writing to them later will be much easier.
Not everyone will feel comfortable helping with the final service and there’s only so much some people can do. But you might have friends who helped with things around the service and that is noteworthy as well. For example, perhaps a friend ran errands for you, so you had more time to grieve. You can also thank those who offered to mow your lawn, those who sent meals, and so on.
When you have services for a loved one with funeral homes, it’s smart to keep track of those around you who are helping you with your tasks and with the final services as well. There are plenty of people who deserve your attention and acknowledgment for their support of you during this hard time.