Time for reflection....families...the most complex relationships on earth. I miss those days when I was a kid, when cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents were around for holidays and special occasions and sometimes just because.
A cousin died this past weekend, she was my mother's brothers oldest child--only 1 1/2 yrs older than me. She had the same kidney disease my mom, her dad, and a host of others in that branch have. Cathy was a great person, though at times she was not my favorite person, but we all have those experiences with people. She was the oldest of 3--a favorite aunt to her sister and brother's children, probably because she spoiled them as they were growing up having had no children of her own. Life is way too short not to enjoy it. She was 52 yrs old and sick for a long time, not sick enough to enjoy some of it but the disease was always there.
Like my immediate family, 2 of my siblings have it also, it's easier to count the people who don't have it than it is to count the ones who do. Makes us realize we aren't going to be here for long---mid 50's for most. I don't want to get depressing but it makes you think.....

ENJOY LIFE, none of us are getting younger....