Happy Holidays?

On Saturday afternoon, November 21, in Indiana, Pennsylvania a wonderfully irreverent memorial service was held for Fred’s mother, Nancy Mahn Duer. It was so fitting for Nancy and I think that she would’ve been very pleased and happy with the event and would probably have participated if she were somehow able to do so. She was an extraordinarily special woman and will be missed by all. So many people were there: relatives from Massachusetts, adopted family, neighbors from her old neighborhood, friends from organizations in which she was active many years ago…just evidence of how many people she touched so deeply in her life.

Thanksgiving was wonderful once again! Fred's brother Lee and his girlfriend Lori (for the first time!) joined our friend Katen Atlkins, Fred, and me for another one of Fred's sumptuous thanksgiving meals. Lori and Lee spent a couple of nights with us and we had just a great time hanging out together, reflecting on their mother's service, and just visiting and relaxing. A very nice way to spend the Thanksgiving Weekend. We didn't even get up early to take part in Black Friday; however, we did end up entering a store or two in the afternoon without even remembering that it was Black Friday!

Soon after Thanksgiving Weekend I received a phone call from my cousin Glenn Okazaki informing me that Dad’s older brother Seiji had passed away peacefully at home in Chicago. It wasn’t an unexpected call as we had been warned that things were not looking good with him for a while, but still, the actual event of his passing still struck hard and hurts. It’s a painful process to see one’s parent losing the battle of life and yet, there is the fact that you know that there is peace at the end. I know that Dad, along with Mother, was on the “other side” welcoming Uncle “Brush.” They were very close and now they are together once again.

What a year this has been. I knew that 2009 would be the Year of Firsts, but I didn’t figure that it would be full of as much sadness as it has turned out to be. It is all part of Life and my age, as much as I hate to admit it. I look forward to 2010 to be a much better year. (Is it here yet?) I see 2010 as being a Year of Change. It’s jsut the beginning of December and I’m already tagging next year with a name. We’ll see how accurate I am at my prediction for the coming year. As Jean reminded me the other night, not only has this past year been a Year of Firsts, but it’s also been a Year of Reflection. How lucky we are to have been Mother and Dad’s children, to have each other, our partners, and family.