Good Things From Bad

Although I lived overseas for most of my childhood, we came back to the US every summer. Most of those summers were spent with my mother's family in the Central Valley area of California. We stayed with my grandmother, but spent a great deal of time with the aunt and uncle and cousins who lived in the same city. That aunt is also my godmother, and I always felt very close to her and her family even though both of her sons were significantly older than me.

My uncle had been in poor health for the last ten years at least, and to our great sadness, he passed away in May. Family members from near and far gathered to celebrate his life at the memorial service my aunt held for him in June.

Yesterday, I received an email containing some of the "cousin pictures" we took that weekend. It's unusual for a group of us to be together since we are widely scattered geographically, so we document it whenever we find ourselves in one place.

We had been laughing like fools about I don't even remember what right before the pictures were taken, so every one is a happy picture. We love each other, and it shows. I had not seen some of these cousins for years, but it is the kind of crowd where everyone picks up right where they left off with no breaks. And the significant others who were there are just as nutty as the rest of us and fit right in.

Never thought that I would be thinking back to a memorial service weekend and smiling. Grateful for the wonderful family members who put the better in with the bitter.

Love you all.