Sad news...

Today is winter:

I'm working on a fun little project which I hope to post in the next couple of weeks. But first, I have to make it out of this hellhole, otherwise known as 2016. I totally share Betty's sentiment:

2016 wants to make sure it knows who was the boss for the last 365 days, and has not only given me yet another round of voice loss/flu/nasty cold/crud, it has taken a beloved cousin. My cousin, Kevin Shea, passed away on December 23rd, after battling an infection for about a month. He was only 53 years old.

When we were young, my brothers and I spent a lot of time around our cousins--Kevin, Darryl, and Kelly. Kevin was my older brother's age, Darryl is s year older than me, and Kelly is a few years younger than my younger brother.

We'd usually spend a lot of time at my grandmother's house in Okeechobee. She lived on an acre or so of land, and lived on a canal, where we spent summers fishing with cane poles and bologna for bait.

I usually hung around Darryl, who was a lot like me, but I had a good relationship with Kevin too, although I was sort of intimidated by him. He was really tall, and had a fiery Irish humor he inherited from his dad. I guess even as a kid, he was a little larger than life to me.

Here's a fairly recent pic of my cousin, Darryl:

But from his mom's side (my dad's sister), he inherited juvenile diabetes, and he wasn't the best at managing it. I remember he'd sometimes purposely eat cake when he was upset with his parents. I never did understand that, lol, because a stint in the hospital miserably sick wouldn't be my first choice for revenge against a spanking.

My uncle Frank, was as Irish as can be, and exuded a laid back kind of fire and brash humor. I remember he didn't feel well much of the time, either, but when he did feel well, he was a lot of fun to be around. He passed away in 2011.

My aunt Sharon is also really cool, and easy going. Sometimes I'd spend summers at their house in Palm Beach, and just hang out with her, and she'd teach me how to cook, or how to play jacks, or jump rope. She was patient with my klutzy self. Lol. She worked a lot, though, and she always seemed tired. Today, she's doing well, and a breast cancer survivor.

But as I grew older, went to college and joined the Air Force, we fell out of touch. The last time I saw them was at my dad's funeral several years ago.

Kevin's pride and joy was his now famous pub, O'Shea's, on Clematis St in downtown West Palm Beach. He sold the pub after suffering some health problems several years back, but he laid the groundwork for the pub's success today.

Kevin's passing made me stop and realize how much I miss them, and how important family is, even extended family. Kevin lived just a couple hours south of me, and I wish we'd kept in touch.

His funeral is next Friday, and if I can get off work, I'm hoping to ride down with my brother and SIL to attend. It'll be nice to see my aunt and cousins...I just wish it was under happier circumstances.

He will definitely be missed...