Bodies..
This might turn out to be a long one.. So apologies in advance..

A bit of back story is necessary..

My mum had a sister, a few years younger. At some point, she had contracted lung cancer, and after a somewhat extended battle, passed away. I was a wee nipper of maybe 5 years old, so I wasn't really aware of what's going on. My cousin however, my mom's sister's kid, three years older than me, was very aware of that. He was going through a rough period.

A few years after my aunt passed away, my uncle temporarily (fuck temporarily, about 5-6 sodden years) moved to Ze Fatherland (Germany) as an illegal worker, in order to have the money to support his kid, and hopefully provide a better life.

My cousin, during that time lived with my Grandmother, my parents accepted him as their own, and I accepted him as my brother. My cousin and my grandmother had a number of huge fights, but they did love each other. She was with him every step of the way during his most difficult years. She was there to give him proper advice, feed him and take care of him. She was there when we found out that he was shooting up regularly, and she was the one that provided the most support for him to clean up his act. With the support of the family, but mostly my grandmother, he cleaned up sharpish, found a job and eventually became a better person all around.

When my uncle returned, my cousin went back with him, etc etc, now they've got their own wood-processing company, things aren't that bad. Business is slow, but they manage.

March 10th last year, my grandmother passed away. Her heart had been very weak for a few years, and to some extent, we had all expected it. It was a Saturday morning, we went to her place after a close friend of hers that had keys to her apartment had called us. She had a heart attack at some point during the night. My father and I sorted out the funeral details while my mother prepared her. The funeral was to be on Sunday.

During all of this, I managed to remain calm. I was reasonably close to my grandmother, but I kept my emotions under control.

My cousin arrived that night. Because he and his father live somewhat far, it took them a few hours. We had a few beers in grandma's honour, and prepared for the funeral.

The next day, during the funeral, a slight drizzle started.. As my grandmother's casket was being lowered into the ground, my cousin started crying. It was obvious that the loss was much greater for him than for any one of us. Having lost his mother at a very young age, my grandmother was his mother, a person that he really, truly loved, possibly more than any of us. It is then, that I started crying, because I knew that my grandmothers life had influenced us all, especially my cousin in a way that we'll always appreciate.

The one year anniversary of her death is coming up.. We all miss you gran..
(zeroSignal, Fri 29 Feb 2008, 15:48, Reply)