HW 46 - Initial Thoughts on the Care of the Dead

When I think about death I think about the funerals I have attended throughout my life. I have attended about three and the weird thing is it feels like more. I think about those few days the funeral was held and how everyone was crying. When someone in my family dies its very intense just as I’m sure it is for everyone. There are tears and shouts of “why god why”. We gather at the “Ortiz” funeral company and take the time out to mourn the love ones lost. Laminated cards are handed out with the names birth/death days and a prayer that the closest family has picked out. There are usually a lot of people there and everyone is wearing black. Some people get up and say something about the dead, more tears. Then we drive down to the burial site and lower them into the ground.

When someone is placed in the ground I know of a few different things people do to mourn their loved ones. I have a cousin who lost his mother and every year on her birthday he meets with his brother and releases a balloon in the sky, she told him to do that before she passed and she said she would always be looking. Another cousin of mine visits her mother’s funeral because it makes her feel better. Each of these two cousins have tattoos to help them remember their mothers. Everyone has different coping mechanisms and I find that often people keep something physically present or they get something that will forever be there. I have no questions other than general curiosity about how we can deepen this unit by learning new things.

HW 46 - Initial Thoughts on the Care of the Dead photo's

Here is one of the cards handed out at the funerals of my Great grandmother Lucy Vargas. It reads: "God saw you were getting tired and a cure was not to be, so he out his arms around you and whispered come to me. With tearful eyes we watched you and saw you pass away. Although we loved you dearly we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest. God broke his heart to prove to us he only takes the best."

HW 44 - Comments on Other People's Projects

CASEY'S BLOG:
Hey casey, as everyone else before me said; the detail in your post made the story very intriguing! I think that your project idea was amazing, I wish I could have done it.
Casey visited St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and helped Dr. Moritz deliver babies while going into detail about the "normal" routines people performed throughout the day.
I thought that you were lucky to have experienced and assisted in the birth of someone whom you didn't know. Personally I would have felt blessed to be a part of that experience and that is what attracted me to your blog. Also during the catapult experiment we discussed your project so I decided to check it out.

NAIMA'S BLOG:

Hey nemo!

I love that you start off with a story because as I am reading it I am imagining it! Which makes me giggle. The 450$ class fee shows your dedication not only to the project but to the craft as well and I thought that made this a little bit more authentic.

You talked of your three day training to become a doula (which is awesome) and an interview from your aunt Ramona. When I heard that you were training to become a doula I thought that your blog would have some things in it that I would like to know like what are some soothing techniques and what exactly would one need to know to become a doula? Medical procedures?


ALLY'S BLOG:

Hey ally,

I thought that yor idea to do a poster board was different and somewhat refreshing. I find that presentations are more interesting than reading blog posts sometimes.

The comparison from traditional hindu practices and American practices was interesting. The baby dropping ritual was intense by American standards, dropping babies 50 feet for a blessing is intense. They are far more religiously connected to birth than we are. When I saw the cultures you were comparing I decided to look at your poster and see what you found.

HW 42 - Pregnancy & birth culminating project

The importance of babies beyond the fact that they help keep the human population alive.

When you walk down the street and you see a baby usually you smile at them. The little dribble of salvia on their chin, the complete innocence and trust in a world they know nothing about. You look at them and feel the warm connection; you wish you could go back to those “good ole days” even though you can’t remember them.

Ryan is my baby cousin who lived with us due to family issues when he was a week old. He stayed with us for a month. I remember how tiny he was, he was so soft and frail like porcelain. It took my entire family to get it together to help take care of the new addition. But the instant love we felt was more than enough motivation.

Ryan showed us all that despite the circumstance or whatever life throws our way we as adults are meant to care and love things, he showed us that it is important for people to not be selfish. His innocence and dependence on me made me feel a sense of worthiness and pride. I could go on for days about all the cute things he has done. I remember his first words and his first christmas, now he can walk and run and he believes he's saying something but it's only his baby talk.

Although I wasn't around to experience his birth or around his mother much throughout her pregnancy I thought that watching him grow and learn is very similar to him being in the womb. I was amazed at how much he has changed and how big he has gotten just as im sure his mother did too.