Sit & Write #159
Greetings, friends!
What a week it's been. On Friday, I woke up at 3:30am to catch an early flight to Iowa so I could attend my cousin's funeral. When I arrived, I realized it's been 10 YEARS since I'd spent any time with that side of the family. And I had only seen them in 2012 because they'd attended my father's funeral. I resisted the urge to joke, "we gotta stop meeting like this!" Though it probably would have gone over well, since we Shendelmans share a fairly dark sense of humor. We snapped right back into comfortable conversation--the only indicators of lost time a smattering of gray hair and three giant children I hadn't yet met.
I would never, ever call my cousin's death a blessing--she lost her life in a manner I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Nonetheless, I am still so grateful for the chance to reconnect with the midwestern branch of my family. I'm slowly hatching a plan to see them again in the next year or two--preferably at a beach house, but really, anywhere that's no…