Mourning and Rejoicing!

The kids and I returned yesterday evening from an unexpected trip home to South Dakota for the funeral of my mom's cousin, Ruth. She was a young woman of 59 and was just found to have cancer when she went into the ER on Thanksgiving Day in extreme pain. Luckily we have a doctor and nurse in our family who work at the Mayo clinic and they got her in immediately. It was clear that there was nothing they could do and she was sent home to die. It all happened so quickly, yet it seemed to drag. We got the call last Sunday that she had passed away.
My mom had made it very clear that she more than understood if we couldn't make it to the funeral, but not going was just not an option. When I told most people that I was going to the funeral of my mom's cousin they usually had the reaction of relief...like, "Oh, good...I'm glad it wasn't anyone close"...probably most people don't even know their mom's cousins that well. My family, however, is different. Very different. My grandmother had 11 brothers and sisters. I was raised knowing 9 of them (one died in infancy, one before I was born). Some of my mother's cousins are my age. Anyway, we are all close. Just the way an extended family should be. Ruthie was a staple to our family. She attended every concert, every game, every family function, every Sunday "dinner". She was a wonderful, lovely, loving, joyful woman who I am so blessed to have had in my family. This Christmas will be very hard without her. She leaves a wonderful husband behind who has become so much a part of our family.
On the lighter side of things....getting to announce that we are expecting another addition to our little family during this sad time seems to make things a little brighter! In August (or July if things go the way they have in the past) we will be welcoming another little Jones into this house. This Christmas season seems to have a bittersweet feeling to it this year...mourning our loss, but rejoicing the blessing of this new life! Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel!