Sadness and loss

I'm a bit sad today . . .

I know I have so much to be thankful for, but I am rather sad today as I found out a distant relative of mine passed away. I did not know her very well, and haven't talked to her in years, but I remember our chats from years ago. I do family research, and in doing research I come across someone who gives me the name and number of someone, who gives me the name and number of someone. sometimes I get very lucky and get a delightful person who loves to talk about the old days and loves to reminisce about their family. Ann was such a person. we had several chats over the span of a handful of years, yet I never met her in person. She was a very funny and sweet lady, and I really enjoyed all our conversations and was delighted to know her. The past years I have been consumed with all things to do with my kids and my business, so I have not done any genealogical research since Trevor's birth. and, I have lost touch with some dear distant relatives of mine. But, every time a family member passes away, I regret not getting to talk to them one more time. My grandpa passed away just months before his 90th birthday and I hadn't talked to him in a couple of months before his death. I hope to do better in the New Year of keeping in touch with people.

Its been a tough year for my family. My MIL lost a young man that was very special to her. My MIL's great friend (who passed away some years back) had 4 kids and my MIL stayed in touch with them. One of the kids (just 18) passed away very suddenly and it was quite devastating for her. Now this week, we learned a dear friend of hers who went in for Open Heart surgery came out of surgery, but then collapsed and died later from complications.

My sister in law has had her share of losses this month too- her father passed away the day she gave birth to his grandson. And, within days, her grandmother passed away.

I am hearing of other friends losing a loved one recently, another friend losing a pregnancy and am feeling very sad about things. It just seems like too much loss to try to be in good spirits for the upcoming holidays. While I didn't know very well many of the people that have recently passed away this month that I've mentioned above, it still saddens me because of the collective impact and because I feel for my sister in law and my mother in law and friends.

It reminds me that we aren't always guaranteed there will be a tomorrow, so live life to the fullest now.

And, it reinforces one of my new years resolutions: to do a better job of staying connected and in touch with family and friends.