family

 The last cousin on my father's side passed away last week, leaving my sibs and I the sole survivors of that branch of the family tree. There are twigs above us, but our branches are getting bare. 

It's an eerie feeling.

It's like an entire cast of players has been eradicated. Because of time and distance we rarely saw each other, yet the warmth of those early years kept the hearth of family glowing all these years. 

And now we are the only ones left carrying the flame of that era forward.

Still, I cannot mourn those who have passed because I realize through my life travels, there are many people who never ever experienced that uniquely glorious extended family interaction - not the laughter, the delicious meals, the endless stories, the games, the trips, the sharing of joy and sorrow as an entity against the world.

So on this cold, sleety February day, I give thanks for family, in all degrees of closeness -in reality and memory.

 They are shoulders who have lifted and sheltered us.