I was deeply grateful that we paused after my father passed, taking the time to sit together—my brothers, my mother, and I—with his body still in the room. Regardless of one’s spiritual beliefs, there is something profoundly sacred about sitting with a body after life has left it. It became a ritual of honoring him, a shared moment of quietness filled with grief and love. That stillness bonded us in a way I will never forget, creating a memory as beautiful as it was heart-wrenching.