Day 50: on saying "goodbye"

This was my Uncle Bob. He was 80 when he passed on September 30th. He had apparently been sick for a while, but no one one knew just how bad he was until he fell while picking oranges in his backyard, just before his birthday this past June...and a follow up exam led to a trip to the emergency room and a diagnosis of a pair of bone marrow disorders. His decline was fairly rapid, a smidge over three months. Judging by the turnout at his memorial service today, he will be sorely missed by many.

The day unfolded in classic Mercury Retrograde style: I believed the service was going to take place at the cemetary in Bonita this morning. We got there just before 11 am, when the services were scheduled to start. His name wasn't on the list of official services today, but we were advised that private services weren't always advertised. When my cousin texted me to see where I was, I told her we were at the cemetary but couldn't find them. When she mentioned the church where they were at, about 15-20 minutes away from where we were at - I burst out laughing at the miscommunication. We beat feet up to the church and arrived about 2/3 of the way through the service, but we made it. Fortunately there was a reception afterwards where we were able to properly mingle with family and friends. I wore a nametag to show exactly which branch I occupied on the family tree, as did the rest of my relatives.

My uncle's brief but wild medical journey gave me an opportunity to reconnect with the local portion of my family this year; my cousin actually reached out to me with the initial news about her dad, looking for any advice I could give them. The fact that I was able to share some of my expertise as a Caregiver, and offered to help my family with any research that they might need, actually helped to erase my depression, just a wee bit: my Caregiving was not in vain, and I could share my experience, so I didn't feel quite as isolated as I have in the past.

This Thanksgiving, I reconnected with many members of my uncle's family: his three kids (my first cousins), and most of their kids (my second cousins). I had not spoken with some of them in years, especially since my strange Odyssey began. There were times when I felt like the main character in one of those time travel stories - I don't feel like I've aged that much, but all of the "young 'uns" seem to have grown up when I wasn't looking...once small children have now started college! I find myself in the position the Queen Mother and her brothers must have occupied when we first cousins were playing around and starting our own journeys into the world.

Now I can switch gears, from remembering a life concluded to celebrating a life very much in progress, as tomorrow is Himself's birthday. Tomorrow I will brag on him a little. :)