17 February 2012

distant cousin

quite late last night, i received word that an older cousin had died suddenly, and it's been heavy on my mind since. she grew up in the navy so her family moved around a lot, and i think i probably saw her only three times in my entire life, all when we were both children. she spent her whole adult life overseas, with no brothers, no sisters and, as her parents died, she stayed in the same community. it gives me comfort to know that she was important to the people there and that they loved and cared for her. once again, i find myself thanking facebook for bringing a long lost relation, albiet a virtual one, back into my world. we had over four years of contact - about family, our fathers and grandparents, religion, the Red Sox, flash mobs, culture, music, and the contents of this blog. i will greatly miss that.

here's my cousin, riding on a camel. in truth, it sounds like she lead a much simpler life - friends, church, God, trips, helping others - so i always got a real kick out of this picture. when i think of her, i hope to remember her this way - a sweet, spirited woman, grinning broadly from atop a camel. r.i.p. joanna.

9 comments:

Tabor said...

I think Facebook with all its concerns about privacy also adds a new dimension to our lives by putting us in touch with people we knew long ago. Without written letters, the FB comments and photos are what we now have. Sorry about your loss.

marie grady palcic said...

oh chris, so sorry for your loss. i agree that fcbk is a blessing for the connections and re-connections that come from it. glad that it brought you two back together for the time you had. she looks like an adventuress. thinking of you...

R. J. said...

How sad! She sounds like a great person to get to know. Family is so important but we all move so far apart and lose touch. Maybe she has children or other family to contact.

Cindi said...

So glad for you that you could reconnect and have a few years, but so sorry for your loss. Sending you hugs.

37paddington said...

im so sorry for your loss, but happy you were back in touch toward the end of her life. i am sure, living with no family around her, she found great comfort in your connection and your care. may she fly with the angels.

Irene said...

Facebook is great in getting people in touch with each other and enriching our lives because of it. I'm sorry your cousin died. At least she was in your life for a while and enriched it with her presence.

Word verification wants two words now. One of them is hard to read. Will you consider getting rid of it since you also have comment moderation? It would be really great.

CrazyCris said...

I'm very sad for you, at least you got to know her better these past few years thanks to FB! It's helped me a lot too in staying close to family and friends who are spread out...
lots of hugs!

Unknown said...

It all seems clear when you realize we don't really die but remain as constant transformation of the universl whole.
Each one of us is temporary, about time we grow out of seeing death as the ultimate horror.
We don't even know what happens once it occurs.

Star said...

A wonderful post, thank you.