19
The Boy
Kelcie Valder
Kelcie Valder is a student in the Funeral Service Education
program. Upon completion of the program in December, she
plans on pursuing her goal of becoming a licensed Funeral
Director and Embalmer. Along with working as a Funeral
Attendant and going to school, Kelcie and her husband are
expecting the arrival of their daughter at the end of November.
It’s the moment I’ve been dreading since I started the
journey of becoming a Funeral Director and Embalmer. I have
known this day would come, but I am not prepared for it. I
don’t want to open the tiny little body bag that has just been
delivered to my embalming station. I gingerly pick up the
name tag and read the name. It’s a baby boy and he’s about
seven months old. My hand instinctively goes to my belly,
where I feel my own child give a reassuring kick. The irony of
the situation is almost too much. Here I am seven months
pregnant, preparing the remains of a seven month old child.
There’s no amount of preparation that could’ve readied my
emotions for this moment. I open up the bag, and see the face
of a little boy I’ll never forget. The other embalmers and I do
our best to prepare him for his final viewing, his parents’ final
goodbye. Everything is done carefully and slowly, with many