passing

and so the passing of my family's elders continues....

while at fowl fourth we received a call from my mother's cousin, letting us know that her uncle bob was diagnosed with liver cancer...

here's a picture of my Great Grandma B, and my Gram and Uncle Bob....many years ago...Grandma B passed away in 1989...almost exactly 20 years before her only son...


we recently visited with uncle bob at my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary celebration...as my grandmother's only sibling, she was thrilled that he and a few of his children were able to join us for that special dinner.


just nine days after he was diagnosed, having never left the care of the hospital or hospice facility, my great uncle bob passed away.


while i visit regularly with extended family on my dad's side....but that hasn't been the case with my mom's side...it had been many years since i'd seen some of my distant cousins, and, as always, i wish that it wasn't for this reason. this occasion gave my grandparents an opportunity to go out to dinner with just their four children...and my mom couldn't remember a time that they'd ever done that...just the six of them...

and it gave me a chance to visit my grandparent's house...some place i hadn't been in many years...

it's still very much like i remember it...though the rooms are more filled with signs of my grandparents' travels and collections of who knows what from who knows where...it's a house my grandpa built himself. it's a house i spent visiting every Christmas Day, for many, many years. and Uncle Bob and his family would come over after Christmas dinner...they lived just down the street. as with every passing, it is a time to reminisce, reflect and remember what has brought us to this point in our lives. the places we visited. the people we knew. and the family we love.