Death Is Hard

I know it's been forever since I wrote last. It's sure been a year...quite literally. It seems like there's been a lot of funerals just since 2022 started; we've lost several at church, some that we used to go to church with, other folks we've known a long time. 

This one hit closer to home. My aunt Eva lost her battle with cancer on Good Friday. She fought like a champ since she was diagnosed at the end of 2021, but she had a tough go of it. She was the aunt closest to my mom in age, and she was always the "cool" aunt who traveled to all kinds of places and had amazing adventures and stories to tell when she was back in for a visit. She was a strong, brave, kind, generous, and thoughtful person, who always took time to connect with the niece that was incredibly intimidated by her awesomeness. It's just hard to put together that she's gone so fast. You never know when the last time you'll see someone might have been. I don't remember if it was a funeral or a visit to her house a couple of years ago, but that last hug goodbye happened sometime and I didn't know it'd be the last when it did. 

Maybe it's the getting old in me, but life feels a whole lot more fragile than it did when I was a kid. 

So I came back to the blog today, trying to figure out when I went to visit them that time I took pictures for my uncle's band. 

This blog is definitely a memory jogger. I really need to write more often so I can fall back on it when I need help with my memory. ANYWAY, going through my pictures looking for Aunt Eva, also brought back lots of memories, and I thought I'd jump on here real quick and post. 

Rest in peace, Aunt Eva, you are loved and missed. 

To Laugh Often and Much

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of the intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
to know that one life has breathed easier
because you lived here.
This is to have succeeded.

May the Road Rise Up to Meet You

Irish Blessing – Author Unknown

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.