Wednesday, April 04, 2007


It's April, but it's snowing here.

Apparently a coyote wandered into a sandwich shop a couple blocks from my downtown office.

And my Uncle Jon, above right, passed away earlier today.

So it's been a pretty weird week, and it's only Wednesday.

My uncle was number three in my dad's family of seven kids; my dad is number four. He is the first member of his generation of M-nariks to pass away, and by my count, it was far too early for us to have to let him go. He is survived by his children (my cousins) Anne and Mike and his long-time companion Ann, along with his mother, five brothers, one sister, three sisters-in-law, 21 nieces and nephews (assuming all my math is right), and many more great-nieces and great-nephews. I don't really have a description for how I feel, except that I feel selfish for feeling bad myself because I am sure the grief of my cousins, my dad, my grandma, my uncles, my aunts is much worse to bear. Suffice to say, it is an enormous loss.

I am in the middle of my generation of cousins, so it struck me that my youngest cousins will now be growing up without one of their uncles. My aunts and uncles have played a huge role in my life for as long as I can remember, and even though they have often teased me to no end, especially about my un-M-narik-like liberal views of the world, each one of them has always been uniquely important to me.

The good news is that, despite a week long hospital stay and some very serious problems, my Uncle Jon was awake and himself this morning. I'm not sure how much speaking he could do, but my Uncle Tom relayed to the rest of the family that Uncle Jon was able to communicate a few things this morning to my dad, who was at the hospital, with thumbs up and thumbs down signals. Including, "The Indians this season?" Thumbs up. "The Yankees?" Thumbs down. So it's nice that the Indians squeaked out a win this afternoon.

Anyway, if you're reading this and I've ignored your phone call today after you heard my news, I appreciate the call and I'll call back soon. :)

2 comments:

Nadine said...

So sorry to hear about your uncle, Kathy. My thoughts are with you and your family (who, granted, I don't know at all, but I'll still be thinking of you guys).

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. Many of thoughts and prayers for you and your family.