Partings...and new beginnings

Intense week behind me. A few days ago, my amazing cousin peacefully let go of this life in the arms of the man who she loved. She was buried in Cleveland, in a grave beside her brother and just a few rows away from their parents; their dad was my father's cousin. It was a graveside service, just like, three years and a month ago, when we gathered to see off her brother. Even the weather was the same...rainy, wet and bone chilling. 

Our relatively small, close knit family, inspired by our parents, carry on the legacy of family is everything. We gather for holidays, we have a family chat group, we attend each other's important events, we stay in touch. We look out for each other the best that we can given how spread out across the USA we are. 

Who are "we?" We are the first American generation who are now parents and grandparents or childless. And cousins. Second cousins if we want to be precise. The third cousins? We have to keep the torch burning. And it's up to them to decide if they'll run with it.