Today I got a phone call from my cousin’s wife, that my cousin had passed away last Saturday night. It came as a shock to me, since I had spoken to him last, and he was feeling good. He and I had a lot in common.
My Dad and his Dad were brothers, and My Mom, and his Mom were sisters. We share the same first and last names. We both had by-pass operations in our fifties, and suffer from diabetes and have high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
He and I both loved to cook, however, he realized the dream that I had, owning his own restaurant. We even have a sibling with the same first name. We named a child; Joseph.
There are some differences, he worked for the phone company, while I went to college, and went into advertising. He never cared for baseball, baseball is a passion for me.
Growing up, we didn’t see much of each other, being how he lived in the suburbs and I lived in Brooklyn. Then when we moved out to the suburbs, we still didn’t see all that much of each other.
It is funny how shocking it is. Losing someone like that, someone who almost mirrors you in so many ways. You take him for granted, then one day, shock! Even awe.
I won’t say what a great guy he was, although he had a big heart, albeit weak. I will say this though, take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Learn to forgive, and to give. Love your family before yourself, don’t keep lists of hurts and don’t stay angry. My cousin loved to help people. He was cranky at times, and sometimes he told you what he thought. He made life interesting. He had a lovely wife and a wonderful son and daughter-in-law. I think that is a true measure of the man.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Post a Comment