Happy belated! I hope dinner with the parental units was nice.

Wow. We had a family death yesterday. Not someone I was fond of, but my sister was just visiting her last month, and her COLON CANCER hadn't been diagnosed yet. Since then she was diagnosed, found that it hadn't spread, but she died going to the bathroom after her resection.

And since her husband took her to the bathroom and then came back and found her motionless, I can't even imagine.

Well, to be fair, I can't imagine any of this. She had a very vivid life in my mind--that's how she was, even if it was part of why I didn't get along with her.

I'm reeling with disbelief and wondering how/where to send condolences. It's not like we were close enough to go to the funeral, and I won't travel unless my mother or sister do. But I want to extend something. I guess I have to wait on that one.

During the time I was offline my mother's best friend fell down a flight of stairs and there was a deathwatch for as much as a week. She's somewhat recovered and living in a rehab centre, but she doesn't have all her wits about her and never will again.

My poor mother (colon cancer was her cancer, but she pulled out of the resection well). I know we're exposed to a lot more deaths as we age, but it's the generations above where the mortality is hammered on a regular basis.

PS: The average person smiles ~50 times a day. Thank you Listerine. No judgement.

Life is fragile. Sorry for the suddenness of it all. Even when not close to the person it can be jarring.

Dear Beloved

I do not like heavy metal. I do not like it, Sam I Am.

Please stop trying to bond with me over Megadeath and Amon Amrath.

Don't make me break out the French opera.

Sorry for the suddenness of it all.

Thanks. My sister was just there! She liked her more than I did, and I said "give it time". Oh, oops.

I could stand the solidarity of a funeral right now, but only very known quantities.

Oh, wow, ita, I'm sorry. That's a lot to be hit with, even at a little remove.

That's awful news, ita. I'm sorry.

And separately - happy belated, Sheryl! Hope you can belatedly enjoy some real cake after the holiday...

Oh, that's terrible, ita.

Thanks guys. I know I'm taking it selfishly, but I am parsing it through my knowledge of my mother's experience, and seeing her in Crazy Cousin O's (we have a few relatives that are known as Crazy Cousin ...they are by no means the craziest of the cousins--they are the ones to whom we express affection about their craziness) place is terrifying.

Cousin O was fairly isolated from the kraken that is my extended family. I didn't meet her until I drove to LA and stopped in ABQ to see her. She's definitely a woman who impacted the world around her, and I am sure she will leave a great hole in the lives of the people close to her.

On a totally different note: Reason to go shopping with Neil De Grasse Tyson OR the right answer to "What's up with chicks and science?"