Saturday, June 4, 2011

A pillar of strength

Because of my mom's family, where she came from a family of 5 other sisters and one brother, we were able to have big family gatherings. Thanksgiving primarily was our big event. We (and I in particular) had just been reminiscing a lot lately about all the things my group of cousins and I did during that time. I think a big memory for a lot of us was the haunted house we would make in the basement. I guess we caused a lot of nightmares and even some fears of movies like E.T. that have lasted into adulthood. Sorry about that!

One family in particular was very close with our family. Strangely enough, growing up the two sisters did not get along well. However, since having kids, my mom and her sister have spent a lot of family vacations with us. So again, there are a lot of family memories with my cousin that due to the fact that we are still vacationing in the same spot, it is very easy to reminisce about those fun times. We went on boat rides, we went rollerskating, and played at the beach and in the lake. I remember being typical teenagers or maybe pre-teens where we would giggle and laugh about what our future would bring us. Who we would marry, where we would live, how many kids we would have. Now we are in that time in our lives, and it is fun to be able to share with each other our continued lives. Really, other than my parents and siblings, there isn't anyone else I can share these similar memories with.

Unfortunately, an event has occurred during the past week which has deeply shaken our lives for the continued future. Thursday was supposed to have been the birth of another cousin-once-removed for our family. Baby Lucy's due date was May 25th, and the day previous brought a very normal day, complete with a heart beat monitoring of 150+ bpm. Their family was making the last preparations to become a family of 4. Her brother was getting excited to have a sibling join the family. My family was getting ready to head to our usual Memorial Day vacation to the lake house nearby my cousin's family home. As we were packing the car, I got a phone call from my mom saying that my cousin was heading to the hospital because they could not find a heartbeat for baby Lucy. While immediately I had a thousand questions, my heart went out to my cousin and her family for any peace and good thoughts that were going to happen.

We were kept up to date through my aunt, her mom as to what was happening. We found out on Saturday that baby Lucy was delivered into her mommy's arms at 11:30pm Friday evening, May 27th. Throughout this last week, preparations were made for her funeral. Unfortunately, because of my own family conflict I was unable to attend the event, but have been in close contact with my cousin on a few occasions. I cannot even begin to imagine what they have had to go through, but what I have observed, my cousin has been a pillar of strength, with the help of a very special group that has been with her from the beginning.

I saw my cousin last Sunday, when we were all over at my aunt and uncle's place nearby my parents cabin. At that time I was able to simply express my condolences and sit back and think what a remarkable family we both share. Baby Lucy was so loved from the beginning and will continue to be a part of the family to the end of time, watching down on all of us.

In writing this post, I wanted to recall my childhood memories of my cousin and remark at how unpredictable our lives have turned out. While she and her family have lived through the toughest week of their lives, you all are so wonderful and yes, a pillar of strength. You have reminded me to take the time to cherish our days together with our family.

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