My dads really close friend Dominic, unexpectedly died of a heart attack and it was devistating.
Three weeks it later came time for the second funeral in Florida and my dad had prepared a great speech to deliver.
My dad had great lines that he would test out on me while making me laugh and cry all at the same time discussing Dominics life, their friendship, his children and even had little crowd participation parts in there.
When asking my dad if he would give the speech that day, he said no :(
I was sad to hear that he wouldn't do it and he had said it was because "he couldn't get through it".
I pitched some ideas of others reading it, or him printing it out so people could read it instead, but he shut it down and didn't do it.
I could totatlly understand how he couldn't read it but it sucks to think that he wouldn't share his stories and memories with the poeple that cared about Dominic most.
This website I found is a blog from someone else about how to get through giving a speech and I thought it was great and wish I had found it sooner to share with my dad.
http://www.kristiewest.com/2011/03/17/how-to-do-a-funeral-speech-the-lessons-i-learnt-from-my-two-grandads/
Check it out!
Allie225
This article was beyond helpful. I had to give my grandfather's eulogy when he died. Not only was I nervous but my grandfather wasn't someone I really knew. He lived in New York while I lived here in Florida so he was never around and when he was he just gave us money and went about his life. So when it came time to go up there and talk about his live I was so freaked out and nervous I choked up.
ReplyDeleteIf only I had read this article I would have felt a lot more comfortable giving this speech and probably have done my grandfather some justice.
I think this greatly reflects how no matter how many times we may practice something or prepare for an event, if it has an emotional connection all those preparations can go straight out the window. This also makes me consider what something like this funeral speech might mean to your Dad and how it has helped him cope with his loss. If I was your Dad and had written an awesome speech about one of my best friends I would feel like just writing the speech and being able to think about it would be my version of saying goodbye or letting go. Having to read it in public after less than a month for me would be like breaking open a scab that’s still healing. Maybe once his loss isn’t still so new he’ll be able to look back on his speech again to remember his friend or even eventually read it in public, I know that would be really hard for me at least.
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