Yes, it does become a far too frequent occurrence as we age. My mom had close friends of a wide variety of ages, but when her last childhood friend passed away, in their 90s, it hit her the hardest. She said there was no longer a single person with the same lifelong memories as her. She had outlived her immediate family when she turned 42, but it wasn't until 95 that she outlived all her friends.

You'd think you get used to it, but you don't.

Today is a day to remember the abundance of joy that Jacqueline brought to our lives. We celebrate your birth and miss you so much.

Absolutely. I thought of her often during my rewatch of How I Met Your Mother(Except I didn't bother finishing this time.) I wasn't going to stop here, rather in Great Write, but it's fitting that a post about finishing a novel(Maybe just A Shitty First Draft, but still) should end up here. I wish it had been one of the things that JZ had always taken all the interest in, but she still would believe in it more than I do. Still--yay-"Wedded Twist" is done!