Last Saturday, my cousin's wife Jeanette was killed in a horrible auto accident in Boise, Idaho. I have included her obituary as well as a link to a newscast about the accident. Jeanette leaves behind a 13 and 17 year old daughter. My heart really goes out to this family. Jeanette was also the same age as my brother when he was killed in an auto accident almost 9 years ago. I will be that same age next year so it really makes a person think. Before Jeanette and Chris had children, when I was still single and not too far out of high school, we hung out ocassionally and I have some very fond memories of our time together. I'm reminded again of how much it hurts to lose someone close to you, and how terrible it is that we get so wrapped up in life that we forget to keep in touch with family members that we were close to at one time. My mom's family (the Neill side) used to get together regularly on New Year's Eve and as my cousins have gotten older, moved away, started families of their own, we all seem to have grown distant. We've lost a number of that family in the last 10 years or so and we all agree, while gathered for the funeral, that we need to get together for something other than a funeral. I guess the whole point behind this post is to remind each of you that life is short, and you don't know what tomorrow will bring, so if you have grown distant, PLEASE reconnect. If you haven't grown distant, by all means, be diligent in vocalizing your thoughts and feelings to those you love because you never know when you won't have the opportunity to do that again. I would give anything to have my brother back for just a few hours to tell him a lot of things, the least of which is I LOVE YOU.
