Memories are made of this

My oldest cousin died a while back. I know that death at our age is expected, but hers was a surprise. There are a number of reasons I feel sad about her loss. First, we were not close, but I remember her as a very strong, friendly person who had a laugh and a smile that would light up the room. She was the daughter of my Dad’s oldest sister and with her death, a family connection is severed. She was a person who was very close to her family and had a zest for life that few 80+ people have. I remember driving her up to our uncle’s funeral a bit over a year ago. As we drove, she filled me in on what her children and grandchildren were doing and how excited she was about their plans, and how she would have to find time to fit in all of the upcoming activities.

She was actually older than my aunt and joked about how she would live for a while yet and she said that when she died, she would not have a big celebration of life. I understand that sentiment and I understand her children are having a small memorial service with only close family in attendance.

My brother pointed out to me that with her passing, there I and my cousin E are the oldest of our generation. My cousin E is two years older than I am, and her health, I understand, is not good. E is a very strong and resourceful lady and I am sure that she will live a long time, or so I hope.

I thought about what my brother said and it made me think about family, connections and moments in life that we want to remember and pass on. My cousin that just died sent my aunt a picture of my grandfather and grandmother on their wedding day and my aunt is sending me a copy. I will add it to my collection.

I have, like many of you, started to digitize old pictures and slides. My mother put all of the pictures she had into albums for the family. She did that for us before she passed and looking through the old albums brought back many great memories. I want my children and my grandson to have the same opportunity to look back and see what memories we wanted to be captured and remembered.  This is a challenge as there seem to be thousands of pictures but doing a few at a time and looking at what has been done not what needs to be done, makes the task less daunting.