Jacquie

Sad times strike the White Family again. On May 20, 2012, we lost our sister Jacquie to that pernicious little bastard cancer. She was far, far too young.

It's no secret in my family that my sister and I didn't see eye-to eye on many things, but she was my sister. I loved her and I'll miss her. Even though we didn't always get along, she was always there if I needed her. A fact that I am only beginning appreciate now. She was also an early fan of this blog, although she would, despite my requests, never recommend it to her friends (Gee, I wonder why?). I was touched at her Wake by the hundreds of  people, total strangers to me, who told wonderful stories about what kindnesses Jacquie had done for them, and how much they loved her.

Regular readers of this blog will remember that my Mother always hated it when you said "goodbye" to her. "It sounds so final", she would say, "like we'll never see each other again. Say, 'so long', instead".

So long, Jac.

What makes my sister's passing extra sad is that I never got to say a real farewell to her. I was at her Wake, but on the day of her Funeral, I myself was being rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening, surgery-requiring condition of my own! I'll save that tale for next time. Believe it or not, it's smile-packed tale of hilarity!

Mum

Sad times here. On July 22, we lost my Mum. Well, we didn't lose her, we know where she is, but we won't be seeing her for awhile. That's a bad joke, but it's the kind of joke my Mother liked. If you enjoy any of the "humor" on this blog, you can thank her. I got at least part of my sense of humor from her, although Dad was no slouch in the yuks department himself.

It's lucky my Mother had a sense of humor. She really needed it to put up with us kids' shenanigans. Not to mention the lemons life threw at her, demanding she make lemonade. She was the best Mum ever. Although I may be biased.

It was she who encouraged my sisters and I to do whatever we wanted with our lives. If it hadn't been for my Mother, I shudder to think what horrible career I would be stuck in now.

I could go on and on about what a swell person Mum was, but I won't. It's still a bit painful to talk about right now. I just wish all of you out there could have met her. I'm sure you woulda liked her. 

My Mother always hated it when you said "Goodbye" to her. "Don't say goodbye," she'd say, "It sounds so final. Like we'll never see each other again. Say, 'so long', instead."

So long, Mum.