If you’re asking if you have to go to funerals at funeral homes in Burtonsville, MD, the short answer is, “Yes.” Almost no one likes to go to funerals. Some people are so funeral-adverse that they make the effort to go to the funerals of people they love and care about, drive around the funeral home parking lot for several minutes to try to work up the courage to go inside, and then end up leaving and not attending the funeral.

Funerals aren’t fun social occasions, unlike the other social gatherings of weddings, birthday parties, graduation parties and holidays where friends and family come together to enjoy the event. However, attending funerals is just as important as attending any of these other life events. As adults, we have to come to grips with the reality that death is part of life, not just of the person who has died, but also, eventually, of our own lives.

It can be inconvenient to attend funerals. They may require that you travel some distance to attend. They may require that you take some time off of work or that you miss some other activity you or your family has scheduled. They may require that you rearrange your normal evening schedule and that you eat and go to sleep later than you normally do.

These are sacrifices for others that you should make because in the end, attending funerals is about showing respect for and paying tribute to someone who has died and offering support and encouragement to a bereaved family.

Sometimes a friend or a family member of a friend – or even a family member – lives too far away for it to be practical to attend the funeral in person. However, many people now livestream their loved ones’ funerals for this reason, so if you can’t be at the funeral physically, you should attend virtually through the livestream.

Often funeral services are held on one day (usually in the evening after normal working hours so as many people who would like to can attend) and the graveside services are held the next day, during daylight hours. Unless you are an immediate family or are a close friend of the deceased or the deceased’s family, you do not have to attend both ceremonies. But be sure to attend one of them.

You may be hesitant to attend a funeral because you were emotionally close to the person who died or you are emotionally close to the family of the deceased and you don’t think you can make it through the funeral without falling apart. While it may be difficult, it’s important to remember that no matter how grief-stricken you may be, the funeral is about the immediate family of the deceased and that’s where your attention and focus must be.

There will be time for you to grieve the loss after the funeral, but it’s important to show up and be there for the grieving family during the funeral process.

If going to the viewing or visitation will be the part of the funeral that impacts you most emotionally, then just attend the funeral. However, be sure to send the bereaved family a personal and meaningful sympathy card and a gift like a flowering plant to let them know that you’re thinking about them.

If you’d like to know more about attending funerals at funeral homes in Burtonsville, MD, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at Donald V. Borgwardt Funeral Home, P.A. You can visit our funeral home at 4400 Powder Mill Rd., Beltsville, MD, 20705, or you can call us today at (301) 937-1707.