Funeral homes serving the area of Lynden, WA are able to assist you with putting together obituaries for your parents when they die. However, you can provide great insight into who they were and what made them tick by the questions you ask them now.

One question you should ask them is when they fell in love for the first time. Without putting this question in the context of your mother or father, you will get their ideas about love in general and what the general characteristics were that made them fall in love.

You may also learn a lot about how your parents handled mistakes and heartbreak along the way to become the adults they are now and how they developed their worldview of what love is and what matters most to them in love.

How much do you know about your parents’ world growing up? A good way to find out is to ask them about the popular culture – music, movie, television, etc. – of their childhoods and young adulthoods.

For example, if your parents grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, you will learn about their fairly idyllic childhoods that turned into their turbulent young adulthood. They may have been for or against the war in Vietnam, and they may have been drafted or they may have protested the war.

This will help you understand the framework in which your parents’ values were defined, perhaps changed, and then built. It will also help give you the context for why they have a preference for certain types of popular culture (then and now) and not for others.

Another great question to ask your parents is where they were and what they remember about really big historical (American and global) events.

For examples of American events, you can ask them where they were and what their reactions were to the assassinations of people like President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, and Robert Kennedy in 1968.

For global events, you can also ask them where they were in 1974 when President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency because of Watergate. You can also ask where they were in 1989 when the wall between East Germany and West Germany was torn down, effectively ending a 44-year Cold War (democracy versus communism) that overshadowed global life and politics.

Getting your parents’ personal memories of and responses to questions like these can give you insights about how they view the larger world around them and it may explain ideas they have that you may not have fully understood.

Ask your parents about their earliest memories when they were children. Find out how old they were when those memories were imprinted, and you will have insights into what was important to them from the very beginning of their lives.

Having children changes everything. Whether your parents are biological or adopted, they wanted you and your siblings in their lives, even if, before all of you were a reality, they didn’t know exactly what they were in for.

Ask your parents about their feelings and their experiences before you and your siblings came into the family and in those early days of parenthood.

Another great question to ask your parents about is what, if anything, they would change about their lives. Sometimes life puts dreams and hopes and plans on hold and then quietly puts them away for good over time.

Knowing what might have been or what your parents may have wished for when they were younger will help you to know how they’ve handled the unexpected twists and turns that the experience of life has thrown at them.

For additional information about obituaries at funeral homes serving the area of Lynden, WA, our compassionate and experienced team at Moles Farewell Tributes & Crematory – Bayview Chapel is here to help.