Remember the last funeral you went to? The relatives you haven't seen for years, former neighbours, old friends - and those you'd never seen before? And, of course, the drinks and stories afterwards. "Great send-off," you'd later tell everyone.
Well, those days are gone... at least for now.
In the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, the people we traditionally turn to in times like these - ministers of religion, celebrants, funeral directors - are doing all they can to help.
But with ever-evolving rules governing the conduct of funerals coming into force, some report a growing sense that mourners feeling their loss even more acutely.
Rod Bower, long-time rector of the Anglican parish of Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, recently conducted a funeral service in which a maximum of 20 people were allowed inside the chapel, seated in chairs set two metres apart.
By order of the government, that has since been reduced to 10 people.
"Religious ministers and celebrants are all very dedicated to caring for others but we have some pretty strict protocols we now have to follow," Father Rod said.
"It's very hard for people to stand in the pain of not being able to hug, which is of course the traditional way of comforting."
He said the current situation seems to have intensified people's grief.
"Grief is a funny thing in that it finds all sorts of kinds of symbolic expression.
"And so when you've got an entire world also grieving the loss of security, of freedom, of jobs, of expectations, and then someone dies, all that grief becomes focused on one thing, one person, one loss.
"It just amplifies in the most extraordinary way."
Father Rod said it was important for pastoral carers and others to find ways for people to process grief in the absence of the normal mechanisms - things like pastoral visits or gathering together over a drink or a cup of tea after the funeral.
"I always think the funeral goes on long after I've left. That's when people start telling the stories, which are such an integral part of the grieving process.
"And now they can't do that and that story has nowhere to go; it gets contained in the psyche.
"That can be very counterproductive, because stories are there to be told."
He said was inevitable Australians will see more and more funerals as the crisis unfolds.
"Hopefully, as a society we can contain that.," he said,
"But we need to discover and evolve mechanisms in which that storytelling can happen.
"There's a lot of work to do around this yet!"
One Newcastle and Central Coast funeral provider, David Lloyd Funerals, said it was committed to helping families farewell their loved ones respectfully and within current government regulations.
At the time of writing it said there were no changes to viewings, mortuary services, cremations or burials apart from the social distancing measures already in place.
These require funeral homes not having more than one person per four square metres and ensuring a minimum 1.5-metre buffer zone between individuals.
On its own initiative, the company, part of the Guardian Funerals network, is also removing memorial books to maintain hygiene standards and prevent the spread of germs
The company says it is working with families to encourage the use of live streaming, webcasting and audio-visual technology, which is available at many of its funeral homes.
Indeed it seems ad hoc innovation is taking place throughout the industry as it quickly adapts to the changing times.
In Victoria, for example, a funeral company in Warrnambool is offering video packages to record the service and distribute copies to people unable to attend.
Other options include holding small, private, invite-only services for now, with memorial services at a later date.
Ideas such as these are welcomed by Father Rod, who also stresses the importance of movement at funerals, which has also become more restricted in the current climate.
"We hold emotion in our body and it is best expressed physically - by moving our bodies.
"Walking up to or touching the coffin, laying a flower, hugging - they're all important mechanisms for processing the grief we hold inside. When we can't do that, it can get trapped in our bodies."
He said this can lead some people to try to ease their pain through drugs or alcohol.
"That is quite common among people who struggle with substance abuse or anxiety issues, as we've seen on the TV with the bottle shops being rushed.
"It's incredible how adaptable we humans are. But the caveat on that is that we need to deal with grief in the healthiest possible way.
"And that is telling our stories, having a sense that we're not alone even though we're spatially isolated. We must not become socially or emotionally isolated."
