A Whole Lotta Sad

Tonight our family lost a shining star. My cousin Jennifer lost her battle with cancer. She was only 40 years old.

Jen was the oldest granddaughter on my dad's side of the family. I called my cousin, K, tonight to see if she had heard the news. When she said she hadn't been talking to her mom, I said, "I don't want to tell you," but we both knew why I was calling. We granddaughters are three in number now. The boys out-number us. It's sad and strange to imagine that she is gone. Though I didn't see her nearly enough in our "grown up" years, I will miss her. We will all miss her.

She had a great sense of humour which always made family gatherings more fun. Sitting beside Jen meant that you were sure to spend the evening laughing. (If the truth were to be told, sitting next to any of my cousins usually leads to laughing.)

Here are some things that I will always remember and which will always make me smile when I think of Jen:

First, she was 8 years older than me, so she was infinitely cooler and infinitely more beautiful than any other person I knew. She had beautiful black hair that had just a hint of curl in it - she always said it wasn't curly, it was "bent".

Second, she was the one who started the family "tradition" of elder female cousins dropping younger, infant, cousins. She got tired of holding me and, ahem, dropped me. I, in turn, dropped the youngest granddaughter, L, years later. My other cousin, K, should probably her baby girl away from L to prevent any further family mishaps!!!

Third, when I was little, Jen had a set of nesting dolls that she would let me play with when I visited. She didn't mind sitting on the floor with me as I re-enacted the little scene from Sesame Street. She always made me feel so special.

Fourth - her laugh. Whenever Jen laughed you always wanted to be in on the joke.

Goodbye, Jen. Sleep well now.