“Death Over Dinner” as a dinner party theme? Who would have thought that we would have had such an easy and comfortable time? I planned the menu, had an agenda in my mind, reviewed the website ideas for conversation prompts, and I printed out sheets…I was prepared. What I didn’t plan for was the fact that we only needed one prompt to get going. I never needed to look at my notes again and we never lacked for conversation.

Our small group of 4 married couples, one childless and others with children, ranged from 52-70 years in age. A few were strangers to one another. We had one couple who were classic “deniers” and one couple who had already planned every detail related to their EOL and deaths. Regardless, everyone had something to say and had an opinion to offer.

All thoughts and ideas were directly related to their own personal experience with a loved one’s (mainly a parent’s) previous EOL and death experience. The conversation was enlightening and uplifting, never sad or morose. Everyone walked away with thought provoking ideas and a level of comfort to continue thinking and discussing the topic. Success!

I am pleased that we participated in this national movement to create awareness and get the conversation started about our end of life wishes. It truly is a gift to our loved ones as well as to ourselves. I will not stop…next step is discussing the topic with our extended family and encouraging this movement to continue.