Two weeks ago my cousin Joy died at the age of 60. She had contracted pneumonia and for some reason couldn't get over it. She was my first cousin on my dad's side and was one of 3 children with one brother that was my age. She also was a twin. Her sister's name is Judy. They were kind of like exact opposites; Judy being fair-skinned and full of mischief and Joy being darker and somewhat shy. I had many good times with them as a child even though they were six years older than myself. They lived in a huge house attached to the mortuary (their dad was a funeral director)in a small town in Illinois. I remember some mornings if there was a visitation we couldn't have bacon and eggs because the aroma would offend the people coming to view their loved ones. Many interesting stories and memories related to that of which I won't go into here. Anyway, when their dad died last year Joy was the one to call me and let me know. I promised her I would call her when things settled down. I missed those times with them and wanted to find a way to reconnect. My message here is "don't wait until things settle down." I probably let too much time go by and now she is gone. One thing I found out about her that I didn't know was that she was a quilter and belonged to 3 quilting clubs. Being a beginner quilter myself we could have had many good visits over our sewing machines. If you feel so inclined say a prayer for her family. I'm sure they miss her alot as I do.
