“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change”

– William Arthur Ward

Tis’ the season for giving thanks. And before we gather around the table to stuff our faces with delicious food, let’s take a moment to honor and celebrate our favorite people in the world: funeral professionals.

We might be a little biased… after all, funeral professionals are our clients and we do spend our days chatting with them online and on the phone. But all of that aside, there are a lot of reasons to be thankful for funeral professionals this Thanksgiving. Here are ten of our biggest reasons:

1. They are superheroes

Let’s be honest, if you know a funeral director, you know that they’re not just a funeral director, but a real life superhero. Who can make a stranger’s deceased grandmother look younger than she did twenty years ago? Superheroes. Who can plan four family funeral services in two days and also host the most awesome Thanksgiving dinner the next day? Superheroes. Who can spend their days comforting grieving families while not turning into an emotional mess? Superheroes only. Do we need any other proof that funeral professionals have powers unlike anyone else?

2. They’ve got enough life insight for the rest of us

Being around loss in and day out teaches you some serious life lessons. Funeral directors have seen far too many people “go to soon” to even think about wasting their life on things that don’t matter. Sit down with a funeral director and you’ll quickly learn that time spent with these wonderful humans will result in either a great story or a seriously insightful life lesson.

3. They actually enjoy what they do

As you read this, you may be sitting at your desk working a job that maybe isn’t your passion. Well, that’s not the case for funeral directors. I don’t know any funeral directors who are doing it “just because they couldn’t find anything better” and I certainly don’t know anyone in the funeral profession that’s just in it for the money. They’re in it for the long hall. This is their life passion. And that deserves a great amount of respect in my book.

4. They get more flak than most other professionals

And they take it well. Have you ever dealt with a crazy grieving person? Or a family fighting over where mom’s ashes should be spread? Can you really imagine what it would be like to carry out a family’s plans with NO errors at all? Think about the copious amounts of pressure that creates. Not only do funeral directors do ALL of this, but they do so much more. They take care of their families AND everyone else’s. Yet somehow, they still maintain their sanity.

5. Funeral professionals are truly healing the world

Doctors heal your wounds. Therapists heal your mind. Funeral directors heal your heart. In fact, the funeral profession may be one of the only heart-centered professions out there. A funeral director’s job is to literally help you in the midst of the most overwhelming moment of your life. You’ve just experienced the most intense grief you will know, and guess who’s professionally trained to be there for you and help you face your future? Funeral professionals.

6. They take care of the unimaginable

Just let your imagination wander into the strangest things you think could ever find at a funeral home, and it’s probably happened. We’ll spare the details, but funeral directors have seen it all, and yet they’re still “cool.”

7. They’re the only people in the world that can make death “easy”

Make no mistake… facing the death of a loved one is the hardest thing any of us will ever have to go through. All of the nitty gritty details are enough to make you dizzy.  First off there’s the grief, and then there’s the little things like the death certificate, deciding between cremation and burial, life insurance, and the list goes on. When death comes, it sometimes feels like funeral directors have been sent from the heavens, because they literally handle every single “how-would-I-ever-think-of-that?” detail.

8. No one can celebrate a life like they can

Sure, anyone can plan a decent funeral. But funeral directors know best. Is it a dove release what you’re looking for? Want to send your loved one’s ashes into space? Turn them into a tree? Cremate them and have their ashes formed into a diamond? Anything you need, funeral directors can work their magic to create. They’ve got connections. They know what’s up. This isn’t their first rodeo, and they’ve got our backs. For that, we are thankful.

9. They’re probably working at this very moment

Yes, we realize it could be 2:30am or it could be 11pm while you’re reading this blog. And yes, they’re working. Caleb Wilde said it best when he said, “You know what they call a lazy funeral director? They call ‘em dead. Because the only time most funeral directors quit working is when they die or get maimed by a unicorn.”

10. They expect nothing in return

If we haven’t made it clear already, funeral directors aren’t in it for the money. They aren’t trying to get famous. They certainly aren’t in it for the work/life balance. The only thing funeral directors want in return for their hard work is your appreciation. They live for the “you’ve made my family’s life so much easier” and the “I couldn’t do this without you” comments. It’s what reminds them why they chose this profession in the first place.

So next time you happen to find yourself in a funeral home, take the time to thank your funeral director. Your gratitude will make their day, if not their week. Heck, maybe even their month.

Being a funeral director isn’t for everyone…

But someone’s got to do it. Only a chosen few have the courage, the big heart, the listening ears, and the organized mind it takes to serve this world as a funeral professional.

And this Thanksgiving, the funeralOne team is thankful for those chosen few.  

Why are you thankful for funeral professionals this Thanksgiving? Tell us in the comments below!

Rochelle Rietow

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